As the Atlanta Dream (7-8) faced the Los Angeles Sparks (7-10) in Gateway Center Arena for their first matchup of the season looking to get consistent in their play with a second consecutive win while Los Angeles looked to end a two-game losing streak.

The Dream answered by setting a new franchise high of 112 points to their sixth sell-out of the season – leading the WNBA.

“Rhyne’s been great this year. In my opinion, Rhyne is an All-Star, too. Point blank,” Dream’s Head Coach Tanisha Wright praised Rhyne Howard pregame after congratulating the All-Star selections of teammates Allisha Gray and Cheyenne Parker.

Howard then set a career-high of 43 points on 14-20 shooting, 6-12 from three, and 9-9 from the free throw line. She is now second in franchise history in points scored in a regular season game.

“I know what Tanisha thinks of me, I know what my teammates think of me, and I know what I think of myself and the standard that I have for myself.” said Howard. “And so that’s just what I did tonight, and I showed that.”

Dream’s Nia Coffey continued her hot start with eight points to start the quarter and put Atlanta up two. Atlanta attacked the paint and got rewarded for it with 10 points in the paint and seven from the FT line early. Sparks’ Dearica Hamby ended the first quarter with 10 points.

The Sparks got to the free throw line to start the second quarter. They took the lead behind seven straight points from Azura Stevens. Once tied, Howard hit a stepback three and then Atlanta’s Danielle Robinson scored on the fast break to put Atlanta up three. The second quarter ended with even scoring for both teams (20-20). Howard finished the first half with 25 points, setting a new career-high in points in a half for the sophomore forward. Dream led 54-48 at the half.

It was a bit of a slow start for Atlanta out of the break but Coffey drove for the and-1 opportunity to extend the lead to five. As the Sparks began to double Howard, she found Robinson for a layup. Howard commented on her ability to find teammates for the open shot.

“It’s not just my shooting. It’s my playmaking, it’s my attacking,” said Coffey. “Just being out there opens the court.”

Atlanta outscored Los Angeles 26-21 in the third.

Heading into the final frame, it was more of the same for the Dream as Monique Billings caught the outlet pass and scored for the and-one. The Sparks couldn’t find a way to slow down Atlanta on offense. The bench contributed 29 points, 22 of which came in the final quarter.

Entering the game, the Sparks allowed opponents to shoot just 31 percent from the perimeter, third in the league in lowest three-point percentage for an opponent. Atlanta finished the game shooting 42.9 percent from three. They outrebounded Los Angeles 40-33.

“I think one of the biggest things with that, they were going to be strong on the offensive glass and try to get their second chance opportunities. Dream’s Naz Hillmon on leading the team with seven rebounds, all of which came on the defensive end. “..and really do a good job of trying to box out every single time because you don’t want to give up those easy ones.”

They scored the most points so far this season by any team in the WNBA.

“Just continue to play for our fans because they are coming out every night,” Howard recognizing the importance of the fan support. “Even though we’re going through rough patches, they’re coming out, they’re still supporting us.”