AP and Indianapolis Star

A large contingent of University of Louisville fans made the trip up I-65 to Indianapolis on Saturday night to watch a WNBA game, and Cardinals greats Angel McCoughtry and Shoni Schimmel didn’t disappoint them.

McCoughtry hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 8.8 seconds to play in the second overtime to give the Atlanta Dream a 90-88 victory over the host Indiana Fever in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

McCoughtry didn’t start but finished with a game-high 27 points. Schimmel, a rookie guard, added 17 points and 10 assists one night after tying the club record with 11 assists in a 79-75 home victory over the San Antonio Stars in the Dream’s season opener.

Erika DeSouza also scored 17 against Indiana, and Sancho Lyttle had 10 points and 21 rebounds.

Erlana Larkins had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Fever (0-2), who again played without All-Star forward Tamika Catchings (back injury). Rookie Natasha Howard scored 21 points, and Briann January had 20.

The game featured 15 lead changes and 11 ties. Indiana held the biggest edge, a 10-point lead in the first half.

Howard scored seven consecutive Fever points in the first overtime, putting them ahead 81-79 on a 3-point play with 1:07 left. Schimmel’s basket tied it with 50 seconds left, and both teams squandered chances after that.

• On Friday night both former Cardinals helped the Dream overcome a four-point deficit late in their first game under coach Michael Cooper. McCoughtry wiggled free for a go-ahead layup with 42 seconds left, and San Antonio’s Danielle Robinson was called for a charge when she appeared to score on a drive with 39 seconds left.

Schimmel rushed a shot moments later but quickly atoned for it with a steal after San Antonio’s Kayla McBride dribbled the ball off her foot. That led to two clinching free throws by Schimmel to make it 77-73 with 6.4 seconds left.

Schimmel missed her only shot in the first three quarters and scored all of her seven points in the fourth, including a tying 3-pointer with 8:02 remaining.

Given the outcome, Cooper was OK with the rookie’s ill-advised jumper with about 10 seconds left on the shot clock.

“I’m giving her a little leeway,” said Cooper, a former Lakers star who coached the Los Angeles Sparks to WNBA titles in 2001 and 2002. “You don’t stop a great player like that because you just let her make it happen. Now, had we lost, I’d probably be saying something different.”