Washington is upset in Game 1
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
Angel McCoughtry scored 28 points and Coco Miller scored 21 in her first start of the season to help the Atlanta Dream upset the top-seeded Washington Mystics 95-90 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal on Wednesday night.
The Mystics, who entered the playoffs on a six-game winning streak, are one loss from elimination in the best-of-3 series. Washington won both games in Atlanta during the regular season, including Sunday to end the regular season.
Atlanta started the 5-foot-9 Miller to combat the Mystics’ perimeter strength. The Dream scored 48 points in the first half, the highest total Washington allowed all year.
Marissa Coleman scored a career-high 18 points for the Mystics, who have lost seven straight playoff games. Matee Ajavon and Crystal Langhorne each scored 16 points.
Iziane Castro Marques scored 19 points for the Dream, who outscored the Mystics 31-14 in the second quarter and had their largest lead at 58-41 midway through the third quarter.
The Mystics used a 10-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to cut the lead to five at 63-58. They got even closer with 4:34 left when Matee Ajavon hit her three free throws after getting fouled shooting from beyond the arc to make it 77-75, but Sancho Lyttle’s layup started a 7-0 run for the Dream.