Iziane Castros Marques scores 25 to lift Dream to 89-81 win over Sparks

Castros Marques has 25 to lift Dream over Sparks

ATLANTA — Iziane Castros Marques scored 21 of her 25 points in the second half and the Atlanta Dream rallied from a 16-point second-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Sparks 89-81 Sunday.

The Sparks have lost three straight since losing Candace Parker for the season.

Angel McCoughtry had 19 points for Atlanta (11-4), which never led until Castro Marques hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 6:52 left during a 13-0 run that made it 80-69.

Marynell Meadors was displeased, and didn’t wait for halftime to let her team have it, blasting them in a timeout once they fell behind 49-33.

“She was very rough,” Castro Marques said. “She told us to get pride in what we were doing. They were out-hustling us and she said they were playing with more heart. We took it very personal and we were determined to start playing like we should.”

DeLisha Milton-Jones and Kristi Tolliver each had 19 points for Los Angeles (3-10). Milton-Jones added 11 rebounds and Ticha Penicheiro had 10 assists.

Sancho Lyttle added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Dream (11-4), which kept its hold on first place in the Eastern Division of the WNBA.

“I thought they had a look where they might not come back this game,” Sparks coach Jennifer Gillom said. “But you can’t underestimate that team because they have that desire, that intensity and that passion. Their youth definitely helps. They are a great running team.”

Parker will miss the rest of the season to have surgery on her left shoulder. She was averaging 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds.

The Sparks were up 49-33 late in the second quarter before Atlanta finished the half with five straight points.

“We had a gut check,” Meadors said. “That timeout was probably worse than halftime. It was all about playing defense and getting stops. (The Sparks) were doing whatever they wanted to in the first half. We had to play better defense.”

McCoughtry led Atlanta with nine points at the break despite making just one of her first 11 shots and going 4 for 15.

The Dream beat the Sparks 101-82 in Los Angeles on May 30 despite 33 points and 12 rebounds by Parker. McCoughtry led Atlanta with 32 points and Castro Marques scored 24.