Preseason Begins in Connecticut

The Atlanta Dream opens the 2016 preseason with a pair of games at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Wednesday and Thursday evening.

The Dream will begin play with a matchup against the San Antonio Stars on Wednesday night beginning at 5 p.m. ET before wrapping up the pair of games against the Chicago Sky on Thursday in a 5 p.m. ET tip.

Atlanta will follow up the games in Connecticut with a cross-country flight on Friday before battling the Los Angeles Sparks in a 7 p.m. ET tip on Saturday, May 7 at Pasadena City College.

 

What’s Back

Atlanta has a total of 10 players in training camp that finished the 2015 season on the active roster, including perennial WNBA All-Star Angel McCoughtry, Sancho Lyttle, Tiffany Hayes, Carla Cortijo, Damiris Dantas, Roneeka Hodges, Matee Ajavon, Cierra Burdick, Reshanda Gray and DeLisha Milton-Jones.

McCoughtry, Lyttle and Dantas are currently not with the team or the active training camp roster as each are completing their commitment’s with their overseas or Olympic teams.

 

Newcomers

Atlanta currently features seven new faces in camp, including all four members of the 2016 WNBA Draft class.  Former West Virginia standout Bria Holmes is expected to make her first start tonight in place on the absent Angel McCoughtry.  Holmes wrapped up her career at West Virginia as the program’s third all-time leading scorer with 2,001 points.

In addition, former Rutgers’ center Rachel Hollivay is expected to be the Dream’s primary reserve at the center slot after a collegiate career that saw her finish as the Scarlet Knight’s all-time leader in blocks.  Courtney Walker, a former guard at Texas A&M is expected to bring energy to both the shooting guard and small forward slots.  She was a three-time All-America selection, led the SEC in scoring with 18.4 points per game in 2015-16.   Niya Johnson will provide depth at the point guard slot after leading the NCAA in assists in her final season at Baylor.

Ariel Massengale and Elizabeth Williams are two additional new additions to the active roster that are expected to provide immediate dividends.  Massengale is returning to active duty after rehabilitating a knee injury she suffered during her final collegiate season at Tennessee in 2014-15.  She was a second round draft choice by Atlanta in the 2015 WNBA Draft.

Williams is projected to start at center after Atlanta acquired her for the No. 4 selection in the 2016 WNBA Draft.  She was the No. 4 selection in the 2015 WNBA Draft by Connecticut following a career at Duke that saw her become the first-ever four-time Associated Press All-America selection in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history.

 

What’s Missing

All three of the players missing from training camp due to overseas or international commitments were starters for the Dream last season.  The absence of Angel McCoughtry, Damiris Dantas and Sancho Lyttle should provide the coaching staff to get a more in depth look at other players competing for roster spots as the trio combined to account for over 40 percent of the team’s points last season and started a combined 66 games.

 

What to Watch

There are a few key battles currently going on in camp for both starting positions and roster spots as Atlanta heads into preseason action.

The battle for the starting point guard position is a two-way competition between Carla Cortijo, who joined the Dream for the final two games of the 2015 regular season and Ariel Massengale, who sat out last season due to injury after being selected by the Dream in the second round of the 2015 WNBA Draft.

Atlanta currently has 14 players active in camp and three players still due to report (Dantas, Lyttle, McCoughtry) after they complete their international/overseas commitments.  The Dream must trim down to 12 for the final roster before the start of the regular season.

Players in competition for the remaining roster spots include: Matee Ajavon, Cierra Burdick, Reshanda Gray, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Niya Johnson, Meighan Simmons, Roneeka Hodges, Rachel Hollivay and Courtney Walker.

 

Walker = Dedication/Clutch

Atlanta’s selected Courtney Walker out of Texas A&M with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft.  Walker led the Southeastern Conference in scoring in each of her final three collegiate seasons.  She showed a knack for showing up in clutch moments as she connected on a total of seven game-tying or winning shots in the final minute of regulation while an Aggie.

In addition, Walker went her entire collegiate career without missing a single practice or game due to injury/illness.

 

What’s Next

Atlanta will follow its current three-game road swing with its final tune up and lone home contest of the preseason when it hosts Los Angeles at the McCamish Center on the campus of Georgia Tech on Tuesday, May 10 in a 7 p.m. ET tip.

 

Saturday’s Atlanta Probable Starters at Los Angeles – May 7