By Sydney Gibbs

The Atlanta Dream (3-11) snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 78-75 victory over the Minnesota Lynx (9-4) on Sunday afternoon – securing their first victory since July 31. 

Claiming their third victory of the season was not easy after falling behind by as many as 14 points in the second quarter. Atlanta began to close the deficit and trailed Minnesota 41-30 heading into halftime. According to the Dream players, head coach Nicki Collen gave them a stern energy-boosting speech to get the team ready for a competitive third quarter.

“She gave it to us, she got into us and rightfully so,” said guard Blake Dietrick. “She said we weren’t playing with any toughness. We knew that Minnesota is a really physical team and they want to come out and pressure you – we kind of took it on the nose in the first half. But then in the second half we were the aggressor, we were punching back, we were making things difficult for them and that’s when the tide turned for us.”

Although Atlanta didn’t have an aggressive approach at the opening tip, they made a statement in the second half behind a crisp offense. Monique Billings was a formidable scoring threat and erupted for the 12 points in the third frame alone. Courtney Williams hit a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 57 apiece going into the fourth quarter. Atlanta had an explosive third quarter, outscoring Minnesota 27-16.

The final ten minutes proved to be an intriguing battle that went up and down the floor. Atlanta took their first lead in the first minute on a layup by Elizabeth Williams. The Lynx went scoreless for three minutes halfway through the fourth quarter, giving the Dream a perfect opportunity to go on a 10-0 run. The game came down to the final few seconds, but Atlanta was able to pull through and make timely shots when they counted the most. 

“I think that’s really important. Hanging onto a late win, battling back to a tie to go into the fourth after being down 11 at the half,” Collen said. “When we took the lead we still guarded. We gave up some shots that we wouldn’t want to give up but we only gave them one shot. There wasn’t a whole lot of halftime speech about Xs and Os, it was about heart and toughness.”

The win was a collective effort in every statistical category. Betnijah Laney recorded her second straight double-double, scoring 16 points and dishing out 10 assists –– and was only two rebounds short of a triple-double. Billings added a double-double of her own and scored 16 points and 13 rebounds. Williams and Dietrick also contributed to the box score with 14 and 13 points. 

The Dream had a solid performance on both ends of the court, especially on the offensive end –– shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc on 6-of-15 shooting. Atlanta locked down defensively in the final seconds and displayed their relentless ability to power through in crunch time. 

Through the past two games, the Dream have looked like a different team then what spectators have seen all season. They have shown resiliency and forced their opponents to work until the very end. With the team still being new and gradually adjusting to each other, the Dream has made prominent strides throughout this abnormal season. 

“I think this team was always going to be in a growth mode. We knew it was going to be a process, we always expected to be our better basketball late,” said Collen on the team’s progressive improvement. “We’re getting better because we’re practicing in games, that’s what we’re doing. We don’t have practice. We never got to have a practice with Glory Johnson, or Courtney Williams, or Kalani Brown, not one. We’re getting better because our players are learning each other.”