Second-half Slip-up Leads to Second Straight Loss

Sun, Aug 13, 2023, 3:02 PM

Cheyenne Parker #32 of the Atlanta Dream drives to the basket during the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on August 12, 2023, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

 

After a promising start, Atlanta falls behind in the third quarter and drops their second game in a row. 
 

By: Edwin Garcia

LOS ANGELES: After a frustrating loss against the Storm, the road trip continued in Los Angeles against the Sparks, but unfortunately for Atlanta, the results didn’t change as they fell to L.A. 85-74 on Saturday night. 

It was a tale of two halves for Atlanta as the game was in control at the break, with the Dream up 45-38 and Cheyenne Parker and Rhyne Howard both in double figures. Then the third quarter started with the Sparks going on a 13-2 run and ended with L.A. outscoring Atlanta 24-11. 

The Dream got a boost from Aari McDonald, who scored 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap as the Dream lost their second game of this three-game road trip. Things won’t get easier for Atlanta as they play the best team in the league, the Las Vegas Aces, tonight at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Lineup notes:  

It’s the lineup Atlanta has been using for weeks now; the starting five remained unchanged, featuring Danielle Robinson, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Nia Coffey, and Cheyenne Parker. 

With the WNBA season reaching its final quarter L.A. has also begun establishing its starting five. The Sparks have used the lineup of Karlie Samuelson, Nneka Ogwumike, Azurá Stevens, Layshia Clarendon, and Jordin Canada for five games now.

Standout moments: 

While Howard didn’t dominate the night, ending with 17 points on 5-14 shooting, she gave the Dream a strong start hitting her first two three-pointers to provide Atlanta with their first six points, which helped Atlanta get off to a 12-2 start.
 

McDonald’s late-game scoring kept Atlanta afloat in the fourth; the Wildcat alumn went 4-6 from the field, hit both free throws, and played every minute of the final frame.  

Silver linings following a loss are hard to find, but one thing is certain, Cheyenne Parker came to play. The All-Star had 17 points and 7 rebounds competing against the Sparks frontcourt and helped Atlanta win the rebounding battle 31-30 against L.A.
 

Postgame Sounds:
 

Head coach Tanisha Wright, “Tale of two halves. Did a decent job in the first half; the second half didn’t come out with the same focus, energy, and intensity in order to win the game.”

Cheyenne Parker, “Right now we’re lacking toughness. That’s what it’s going to take for us to get to that next level.”

Aari McDonald “I was just trying to get north-south attacks… just try to be the spark plug.”
 

Stats:
 

Atlanta 17.4% from three, Los Angeles 33.3%
 

Atlanta 15 turnovers, Los Angeles 14 

 

Atlanta:  

Rhyne Howard 17 points (5-14 FG, 3-9 3PT), 5 rebounds and 1 assist 

Cheyenne Parker 17 points (6-14 FG), 7 rebounds, and 2 assists
 

Los Angeles: 

Jordin Canada 20 points (5-13 FG, 9-10 FT), 2 rebounds, and 8 assists 

Nneka Ogwumike 17 points (6-14 FG, 1-5 3PT), 7 rebounds, and 4 assists

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