Defensive Energy Helps Atlanta In Close Finish
By: Jameelah Johnson
Coming off a loss at Washington, the Atlanta Dream (6-8) entered Friday night’s game at Gateway Center Arena looking to even the score with the Washington Mystics (9-6).
“Good win for us. Just like I told them in there, it means nothing until we start playing with some consistency,” Atlanta’s Head Coach Tanisha Wright noted postgame how tonight’s win is a “good start” to how they need to play in the future.
Atlanta brought the energy behind the hot start of Nia Coffey, who knocked down her first three-point attempt, assisted teammate Cheyenne Parker on a three, and even dove on the floor to force a jump ball against Washington’s Natasha Howard.
“It was our energy and effort on defense. Making sure that we followed our defensive schemes, transition. And just making sure we had toughness the entire game,” Coffey remarked postgame of what the difference was in tonight’s approach versus Wednesday.
Atlanta’s defense forced 15 Washington turnovers. Dream’s Rhyne Howard shot four-of-six from the field to lead all scorers with 11 points after the first quarter and her overall game had an impact. She finished with 14 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals. Atlanta had three team blocks.
Atlanta opened the second quarter missing six straight shots and allowed Washington to get back into the game behind Washington’s Elena Delle Donne’s scoring in the paint. Once tied, Coach Wright substituted Coffey in and she immediately hit a long jumper. Coffey finished with 15 points.
Washington’s Brittney Sykes scored seven straight and Washington went up four. Dream’s AD Durr split two free throws to end the first half and Atlanta was down one.
Early in the third, Dream’s Danielle Robinson assisted Coffey on another three and then came up with a steal and score on the following Washington possession, Atlanta went up four. Atlanta outscored Washington 20-13 in the quarter.
Durr scored six straight points after Syke’s three-point-play to put the Dream up nine. Durr’s 15 points off the bench helped propel the Dream. Delle Donne scored 14 points in the final quarter. She finished with 31 points on 13-19 shooting.
With Atlanta down just two points with four minutes left, Howard came up with the steal on Washington’s Ariel Atkins and drew the foul to shoot two free throws.
Coach Wright emphatically called a timeout after Delle Donne scored back-to-back baskets, Atlanta’s lead was down to two points with 52.4 seconds left in the game.
Right after the timeout, Gray completed a three-point play. Gray scored 18 points in the second half, finishing with 26 points on 10-18 shooting.
“Coach T called my number…so I really had to lock in ‘cause I know, like, the team depends on me to make big plays,” said Gray. “I’m just glad Coach T had the confidence in me in the end to make those plays.”
Four of Howard’s eight total assists were to Gray, resulting in nine of Gray’s points. Gray mentioned postgame how her relationship with Howard is growing,
“As much as it’s chemistry on the court, we also build chemistry off the court as well. I mean, we’ve had talks of, like, what we like to do and what we don’t like…it’s just that connection.”
Atlanta will face the Los Angeles Sparks (7-9) on Sunday, June 2, at Gateway Center Arena.