By Sydney Gibbs 

Despite Chennedy Carter’s career-defining 26-point performance, the Atlanta Dream (2-3) couldn’t answer the Phoenix Mercury’s (3-2) fourth quarter rally and fell short, 81-74, on Tuesday night.

The Dream was atop of the stat sheet in almost every category, including turnovers, which was a striking issue and assisted the Mercury in coming out on top. Atlanta ended the game with 23 turnovers while Phoenix only had 12.

“I think we won every statistical category but we just gave up the ball,” said Head Coach Nicki Collen. “We shot it better from two, we shot it better from three, we didn’t get to the free throw line enough but we shot it well when we got there. We did so many things well but you will not win in the WNBA turning the ball over 23 times. This is a different kind of loss. This one was tough because I don’t think we got outplayed, I think we gave this one to them. ”

The Dream controlled the tempo for three out of four quarters of the game. The first and second quarter was all Atlanta, somewhat credited to Phoenix’s sloppy performance. The Mercury shot 32.5 percent from the field compared to the Dream’s 48.5 percent. Atlanta’s effectiveness on offense put them up 35-33 going into halftime. 

Atlanta was in the lead for almost the entire game, until the final seven minutes where Phoenix took their first lead of the game since the first period. After Brittney Griner’s layup, assisted by Diana Taurasi, pushed the Mercury in front 56-55, they never looked back. Their strong, determined effort enabled them to outscore the Dream, 32-19 in the final frame. 

Griner and Taurasi’s double-digit production in those final minutes evoked success for Phoenix on both ends of the court. 

Taurasi led Phoenix in scoring with 20 points–– 15 of which came in the fourth quarter. She also added six rebounds and six assists to end the night. Griner had 18 points along with six rebounds. Three other Phoenix players finished the game in double digits, including Skylar Diggins-Smith and Bria Hartley who had 12 points apiece, and Brianna Turner with 10. 

In spite of the loss, one thing that can’t go unnoticed is Carter’s remarkable career-high game. She continuously showed relentless pursuit and played the fast and fearless game she plays with day in and day out. 

“She starts really strong and finishes really strong,” said Collen of Carter’s performance. “She has no fear of the big moment, she obviously made big plays in the fourth quarter. What we have to get her to do is to not settle in the second and third quarter. If you watched her tonight she was unguardable. But she settled for jump shots.”

Carter becomes the first Dream rookie in franchise history with five straight double-digit scoring performances to start their career. That’s a monumental accomplishment for any rookie, but Carter also had the game’s outcome on her mind. 

“It’s kind of difficult because we didn’t come out on top tonight,” said Carter. “Of course I want to win every night, [and] every time I step onto the floor, but for me to get into the groove tonight and be able to get out there with my teammates and get loose really felt good.”

Contributing to Carter’s record-breaking performance, Betnijah Laney had another double-digit outing, scoring 17 points and pulling down seven rebounds in the team’s loss. 

The Dream takes on the Seattle Storm (4-1) on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2.