Tiffany Hayes, Angel McCoughtry help Dream hold on, slip past Storm 67-64

SEATTLE – Tiffany Hayes scored eight of her 23 points in the fourth quarter and Angel McCoughtry had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Atlanta Dream’s 67-64 victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday.
Damiris Dantas added 12 points, and Jessica Breland had six points, three steals and a season-high 14 rebounds, one shy of her career best. The Dream (4-3) have won three in a row.
Seattle’s Jewell Loyd made a layup and hit a 3-pointer to cap an 18-4 run that made it 61-60 – the Storm’s first lead since 9-7 – with 2:34 to play. Hayes answered with three consecutive baskets to give the Dream a five-point lead, but a 3-point play by Breanna Stewart pulled the Storm within two with 25.5 seconds remaining. Dantas hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 67-64 about five seconds later. After Stewart missed a short jumper, a tie up on the rebound forced a jump ball. Seattle controlled the tip, and then called a timeout with 1.5 to play, but Elizabeth Williams deflected the inbound pass and the Dream held on.
Atlanta used a 13-2 run – including five points by McCoughtry – to push its lead to 13 early into the fourth.
Seattle, which came in second in the WNBA in scoring (85.8 per game), first in 3-point percentage (36.1) and fourth in field-goal percentage (46.0), was held to its lowest scoring output of the season and shot just 33.8 from the field, including 4 of 26 (15.4 percent) from behind the arc.
Natasha Howard led the Storm (5-3) with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.