The Atlanta Dream return to the court Friday night to take on the Indiana Fever in an Eastern Conference matchup. The Dream outlasted the San Antonio Stars 73-63 in overtime to get their 2016 campaign off to a good start. Indiana comes in at 1-1 falling at home to Dallas in the opener but bounced back nicely on Wednesday with a win over the Mercury.

Dream head coach Michael Cooper entered the season with the mantra that his team had to improve defensively to have a chance this season. They succeeded in the opener holding San Antonio to just 35 percent shooting from the field. Atlanta saw a late lead slip away in the fourth quarter but rallied in overtime outscoring the Stars 12-2 in the extra session to claim the victory.

Angel McCoughtry led the Dream with 15 points despite rejoining the team shortly before the opener. Both McCoughtry and forward Sancho Lyttle missed all of training camp while wrapping up commitments overseas. Tiffany Hayes added 13 while Layshia Clarendon dropped 12 off the bench.

Friday's game will be a homecoming of sorts for Clarendon who spent her first three seasons in the league as a member of the Fever. Atlanta acquired her in a trade with Indiana during training camp.

The point guard position was a question mark for the Dream coming into the season. Carla Cortijo started but played just 11 minutes as Clarendon saw the bulk of action coming down the stretch and overtime.

Indiana used a balanced attack offensively on Wednesday to upend the Mercury. The Fever had seven different players finish in double figures. Shenise Johnson, Erica Wheeler and Devereaux Peters all finished with 16 points each. Wheeler, who is the starting point guard for the Fever, played 17 games with Atlanta in 2015, is currently leading Indiana in scoring averaging 14.5 points per game.

Tip off for Friday's game is scheduled for around 7 p.m. and the game can be watched live on Fox Sports Southeast.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Friday, May 20, 7 p.m. ET

Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana

TV: Fox Sports Southeast

Streaming: WNBA League Pass