Aari McDonald #2 of the Atlanta Dream dribbles the ball during the game against the Seattle Storm on August 10, 2023 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Mollie Handkins/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Dream defense held Jewell Loyd to an uncharacteristic 10 points in the third. 

By: Rowan Schaberg 

SEATTLE – After a strong first three quarters, the Atlanta Dream (15-14) couldn’t quite weather a stunning fourth quarter by the Seattle Storm (8-21) that gave them a one-point edge to win the match 68-67. 

Up until the final few minutes of the game, it looked as though Atlanta had the first win of their three-game road trip in the bag. The Dream went three whole quarters without ever trailing the Storm, leading by as much as 16 points in the third quarter. 

While Atlanta started the fourth quarter with a 13-point edge over Seattle, 60-47, the Dream’s offense lulled for over six minutes as the Storm went on a 16-0 run. The cushion created earlier in the game kept Atlanta neck-in-neck with Seattle as they searched for an offensive spark, which was finally answered with a jump shot by Allisha Gray and a fadeaway 3-pointer by Rhyne Howard, but the Dream still couldn’t quite seal the deal. 

The dynamic duo in Howard and Gray, who attempted to save their team late in the fourth quarter, finished with 20 and 17 points, respectively. Aari McDonald contributed a significant 10 points in just nineteen minutes on the floor while Cheyenne Parker, a consistent top scorer for the Dream, struggled to get touches in the post, finishing with 6 points.  

“I would’ve liked to maybe get [Parker] some more touches in the block,” Head coach Tanisha Wright said. “I didn’t think we did a great job of post entry passes, so it was hard for us to get her some touches.” 

Atlanta’s strong defensive performance was key to sustaining their lead, as the Dream held the WNBA’s leading scorer, Jewell Loyd, to an uncharacteristic 10 points during the first three quarters. Monique Billings made a noteworthy impact defensively, recording 11 rebounds, 10 of which were defensive. 

Wright reflected, postgame, on the final quarter against Seattle and what the Dream can take from the loss as they continue on the road. 

“They turned up their intensity, their aggressiveness,” Wright said. “It’s tough to lose in this manner, especially when you feel like you didn’t do your best coaching job. So, we got to turn this one off, we got to let this one go. We got to learn from it but then we got to be ready to bounce back.” 

The Dream will travel down the West Coast to meet the Los Angeles Sparks (11-18) on Saturday before facing the Las Vegas Aces (25-3) the very next day.