Castro Marques leads Dream

ATLANTA -- Iziane Castro Marques scored 22 points, Sancho Lyttle had 14 points and 10 rebounds and the Atlanta Dream held the Minnesota Lynx to 29.9-percent shooting in a 76-58 victory Thursday night.

It was the fourth straight win and seventh in nine games for the Eastern Conference-leading Dream (13-4). Erika DeSouza added 11 points, and Angel McCoughtry had 10 points for the Dream.

``It was about the first time in four games that our starters got serious on defense right from the start,'' Atlanta coach Marynell Meadors said.

Seimone Augustus led Minnesota (5-11) with 17 points.

``With Atlanta you've got to be able to score, and it was a really bad game for us to shoot 29 percent,'' Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said.

Atlanta led by 16 points in the second quarter and took a 20-point lead into the final period. Minnesota made just 2 of 18 shots in the first quarter and shot 25 percent in the first half.

``It's about time,'' McCoughtry said. ``It's hard playing catchup all the time.''

Castro Marques hit three consecutive 3-point shots and had 11 points in the first half. The Dream were 9 of 17 from the field in the second quarter and had eight players score. Augustus led the Lynx with nine points in the first half.

``I was really worried about this game because I know how explosive Minnesota can be,'' Meadors said. ``Seimone Augustus is probably one of the best basketball players and best shooters in the game. I thought our defensive effort at the start the game was huge. ... I want to complement our team for being ready.''

It was the third game in five days for Atlanta, which is just past the middle of a six-game homestand. The Dream will play Chicago on Saturday and Connecticut on Wednesday before hitting the road for four games after the All-Star break.

The loss was the second straight for Minnesota since losing Candice Wiggins for the season with a ruptured left Achilles' tendon.