The short-handed Atlanta Dream scrapped their way to a Game 3 victory over the Indiana Fever to advance to the WNBA Finals for the second straight season. Atlanta ran away with the game in an 83-67 rout at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Dream picked up yet another banner night from the duo of Iziane Castro Marques and Angel McCoughtry in the road win. After combining for 57 in the second game of the series, the pair finished with a combined 49 points. McCoughtry poured in 26 points, despite an 11-of-19 performance from the line. She pulled down eight rebounds and had four steals in the win. Castro Marques contributed 23 points, including a 5-for-7 night from beyond the arc. Erika de Souza is expected to rejoin the team in time for the second game of the Finals after missing the last two games to play for Brazil in Olympic qualifying action.
The Fever was hard-pressed to find the basket, shooting only 38.9% from the field, 25.0% from 3-point range and 63.6% from the line. Indiana was led by Katie Douglas' 16 points. League MVP Tamika Catchings played in the contest, despite a torn plantar fascia. She finished with six in 24 minutes in the losing bid.
The Finals, a best-of-five, begin against the league-leading Lynx in Minnesota on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. EDT. In the regular season, Minnesota swept Atlanta 2-0. Full Finals schedule