Aug 31, 2008 - 2:17 AM
0 shoutsBy PA SportsTicker
INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Tamika Catchings had 23 points and seven rebounds as the Indiana Fever used a big first quarter en route to an 87-72 victory over the lowly Atlanta Dream on Saturday.
Katie Douglas and Tammy Sutton-Brown each scored 21 points and Elaine Hoffman grabbed 14 rebounds for the Fever, who entered the second quarter with a 27-11 advantage.
Catchings, Douglas and Sutton-Brown combined to shoot 21-of-37 from the field for Indiana (13-15), which hit 7-of-17 3-pointers.
Betty Lennox scored 27 points for the Dream (3-26), who own the WNBA's worst record and have lost two straight after the Olympic break.
In other games Saturday:
MINNESOTA 92, WASHINGTON 78: At Minneapolis, Candice Wiggins scored 22 points off the bench as the Lynx used a big performance from their reserves to pull away from the Mystics.
Vanessa Hayden added 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Minnesota (14-13), which also got 14 points from Anna DeForte.
Alana Beard scored 27 points for Washington (10-18), which shot 4-of-15 from the arc.
SACRAMENTO 80, HOUSTON 65: At Sacramento, Nicole Powell had 20 points and nine rebounds and Kara Lawson added 14 points for the Monarchs, who outscored the Comets, 30-14, in the third quarter to pull away.
Tina Thompson and Shannon Johnson each had 12 points for the Comets.
Sacramento (16-13) held a 37-29 rebound advantage and took advantage of 20 turnovers by Houston (14-14).
LOS ANGELES 58, SAN ANTONIO 53: At Los Angeles, Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker recorded double-doubles and the Sparks held the Silver Stars to just 32 percent shooting from the field en route to the victory.
Leslie scored 18 points and 12 rebounds and Parker added 17 and 15 for Los Angeles (17-12), which held a 41-29 advantage on the boards.
Becky Hammon scored 17 points for the Silver Stars, who fell to 19-10 and into a tie for first place with the Seattle Storm in the Western Conference.
