After a midseason blip, it appears the Atlanta Dream have regained their footing. They will try to avoid a misstep on Friday night when they host the woeful Seattle Storm in College Park, Ga.
Atlanta (17-10) has won four straight games and five of six overall following a five-game losing streak that included a 105-90 loss at Seattle on June 27. The recent hot stretch has propelled the Dream to second place in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Indiana Fever by a half-game.
The Dream scored the final five points on Wednesday, including Allisha Gray’s game-winning jumper with 15 seconds left, to extend the streak with an 82-81 victory over host Dallas. The Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale was called for a flagrant foul on Gray’s 3-point attempt with 18 seconds remaining, giving Gray three free throws and keeping possession with Atlanta. Gray made all three, then sank a 12-foot jumper for the five-point swing.
Atlanta made just one of its 16 (6.3%) 3-point attempts in the win, which head coach Karl Smesko knows is unsustainable down the stretch.
“We’re going to have to shoot the ball better and finish layups better if we want to advance in the playoffs,” Smesko said. “But I think this gives us confidence that when we’re down, we can pull together and rely on our defense and just keep working to give ourselves an opportunity to win.”
The Dream’s season-long 30.6% 3-point shooting clip ranks 13th in the league. Gray (19.3 points per game) leads Atlanta in scoring, followed by Rhyne Howard at 17.2. Angel Reese is averaging 15.6 points and 11.5 rebounds, the second-most in the league behind only Dallas’ Jessica Shepard at 12.1.
Seattle (6-24), meanwhile, is laboring through its second losing streak of at least seven games this year. The Storm dropped 11 in a row earlier in the year and are on pace to finish with the most losses in their 27-year franchise history.
A bright spot in an otherwise forgettable year has been the breakout season of guard Natisha Hiedeman. In her first season with Seattle, Hiedeman is averaging a career-best 16.1 points per game and is coming off a career-high 33 points in the Storm’s 105-95 home loss to Indiana on Tuesday.
“We don’t ever give up,” Hiedeman said. “That’s the good thing about our team. We’ve got grit. We’ve got fight. Through the ups and downs, we continue to stick together.”
Storm center Dominique Malonga averages 16.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game lead Seattle, while rookie Flau’jae Johnson chips in 13.8 ppg.
–Field Level Media
