By Bailey Johnson

It took more than four minutes for the Dream to get on the board, and by then the damage had already been done.

After Elizabeth Williams won the tip for the Dream, Nia Coffey lined up for a wide-open 3-pointer. The shot clanged off the rim. As did the next one by Tiffany Hayes, the one after that by Renee Montgomery and another one by Coffey.

“I really thought we were gonna have a bounce back game tonight,” said coach Nicki Collen. “If you watched the first possession, we got two wide-open threes and missed them both. Right now, in some ways, we just have to get out of our own way a little bit.”

The shots were open, but it didn’t matter. By the time Jessica Breland finished on a long jump shot from just inside the arc, the Las Vegas Aces had opened up a 10-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game.

It didn’t ever get much closer than that 10-point margin as the Dream lost their third straight game, 92-69.

The Dream somewhat got themselves back in the game late in the first quarter and going into the second period after the early 10-0 run for the Aces. The defense tightened up and the ball started going in the net, but the comeback didn’t last long.

The Aces started to dare the Dream to shoot, and shots started missing again. And the more shots the Dream missed, the more open the Aces left them.

“It all was like an avalanche of sorts,” Collen said. “You’re not making shots, so then they leave you alone. All of the sudden, you’re even sometimes more open. You could be in a gym shooting by yourself, some of the shots we’re missing right now.”

Frustrations built for the Dream throughout the game as they sought to end a two-game losing streak. As open shot after open shot missed the mark and as the Aces’ Liz Cambage dominated in the paint, it became clear that the Dream were getting more and more frustrated.

After the loss, Collen pointed out the frustrations to her team in the locker room and made it clear that getting frustrated won’t lead the team to victories.

“We can make shots and we’re just not,” Collen said. “I think, at times, we’re frustrated by that and we’re letting that affect our ability to just sit down and guard and grab rebounds and do some of the little things.

“Our conversation in the locker room, while I’m not certainly going to share the majority of it, the point was we just have to keep battling together and we can’t get frustrated. That frustration is, in some ways, an inward, selfish emotion that we just have to give out.”

In their last three losses, the Dream have given up 82, 96 and 92 points while scoring just 66, 75 and 69 points themselves. While it’s clear the offense needs work, the defense is also off to a slow start this season.

And with a game against the Connecticut Sun looming on Sunday, the Dream has just two days to rest and prepare for another challenging matchup.

Part of that preparation will be mental. The Dream’s players and coaches aren’t pleased with their current performance, and they know things need to change.

“We’re just pissed,” said Alex Bentley. “We’re tired of losing. Everybody’s tired of losing, but like coach said, we got a great group. We’re just gonna stay positive, look in the mirror and figure out what each of us individually can do more for our team, to give to our team, to play for each other and start getting on a roll with wins.”