ATLANTA -- Sometimes teams don’t want to make too much from a season-opening victory. Not Angel McCoughtry. The WNBA’s defending scoring champion was bullish on the Atlanta Dream’s 98-81 victory on Saturday over the Tulsa Shock. Part of what was so impressive about the Dream’s victory was that McCoughtry’s 16 points ranked third on the team, as she was one of five players in double figures. Tiffany Hayes led the way off the bench with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Asked about the balanced scoring, McCoughtry said, “Pretty balanced team, really great team. … It’s going to be a good season.” The Dream were 19-15 last season and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, although for the first time in three seasons they failed to make it to the league finals. McCoughtry said at the team’s media day that she liked the Dream’s improved depth. Perhaps, then, this is the year when they finally claim their first league title. “You can read into it a lot,” McCoughtry said of the win. “The team played great. Tulsa” -- 9-25 last season -- “is way better than what they used to be. I would just say for the first game it looked really good. We still can get better. There were some kinks but overall it was great effort by the team.” Hayes’ 21 points fell just two short of her career high. “Tiffany’s a super player,” Dream coach Fred Wiliams said. “She plays hard every time. It’s very nice for her to get minutes. If it’s coming off the bench or being a starter, she’ll do whatever she wants to do to make the team win.” The Dream’s victory meant an unsuccessful debut for Tulsa’s highly-touted rookie Skylar Diggins, the third overall pick in the WNBA Draft. Diggins, the career scoring leader at Notre Dame, has received notoriety for her looks in addition to her basketball skills. She is represented by Jay-Z and made news when he gave her Mercedes-Benz for a graduation present. On Saturday, she struggled from the field, making 4 of 13 shots, and had five turnovers to go along with her three assists. Her 15 points were second on the Shock. Diggins, who was minus-21 in 34 minutes, was trying to find the silver lining in her performance. “You can’t teach experience, so it’s good for me to be out on the court and get that in-game experience and watch the film, learn from it and have a short-term memory,” she said. The Dream got off to a hot start, racking up 29 points in the first quarter on 64.7 percent shooting. Despite building a 14-point second-quarter lead, they let the Shock back into the game, as the Dream made only 6-of-17 shots (35.3 percent) and saw their lead cut to 48-44 by halftime.
However, Atlanta started the second half on an 8-2 run fueled by two baskets from Sancho Lyttle and never looked back. “We just turned the ball over too much in the third quarter,” Diggins said. “I think we had 10 turnovers in the third quarter and coming out the first four possessions I think they scored. … The first three minutes of the second half are the most important and we didn’t do our jobs, and most importantly I think I have to do better handling pressure and calling plays.” Despite the statistics, McCoughtry thought Diggins did well in her debut. Diggins was forceful, driving to the basket and getting to the line. She made 7 of 8 free throws. “She’s learning,” McCoughtry said. “She’s new. When I came in I started very slow and towards the end, I won rookie of the year. For Skylar, she’s doing a lot better than what I did when I first came in. she’s going to be OK.” And so, it seems, will the Dream.
