by Troy Jenkins

The Atlanta Dream have qualified for the WNBA playoffs as the No. 6 seed and will face the No, 7 seed Seattle Storm in the first round. This game will be a single elimination game and will take place 8 p.m. Wed., Sept. 21 at McCamish Pavilion on the campus of Georgia Tech. Get your Playoff tickets here.

Fans can purchase advanced parking for Wednesday’s game here.

Dream fans can also visit our Playoffs 101 page for all information about the game.

Here’s a preview of the matchup:

Atlanta Dream (17-17)

The Dream will be making their seventh appearance in the WNBA playoffs, and have advanced to the WNBA Finals on three occasions (2010, 2011, 2013).

 

Players to Watch

Angel McCoughtry: In her eight season in the WNBA, McCoughtry ranks fourth among WNBA scoring leaders with an average of 19.5 points per game. 2016 also saw McCoughtry capture her second Olympic Gold Medal. Since returning from Rio, she is averaging 23.3 points per game including three 30-point efforts. In the regular season, she scored at least 20 points in 18 of her last 28 games played. McCoughtry is also known to up her game in the postseason. In 2010, McCoughtry set a  WNBA playoff record with 42 points against the New York Liberty. In Game 1 of the 2011 WNBA Finals, she set Finals records for most points in a quarter (19) and most points in a game (38).

Tiffany Hayes: In her fifth year in the WNBA, Hayes averaged a career-high 15 points per game during the 2016 regular season. Entering the playoffs, Hayes has notched double-figure points in 19 of 27 games including the last nine games in a row. Furthermore, Hayes has scored 20 or more points on nine occasions in the regular season.

Elizabeth Williams: In her first season with the Dream, Williams has enjoyed career-highs in points (11.3 PPG), rebounds (8.1 RPG) and blocked shots (2.3 BPG). Her 2.3 blocks per game are ranked second in the WNBA. Coming into the playoffs, Williams has posted double-figure points in 20 of the last 30 games and recorded five double-doubles this overall. Williams is a leading contender for the WNBA’s Most Improved Player Award.

 

Dream Stats vs. Seattle (3 Games Played)

79.7 PPG, 28.7 RPG, 19.3 APG, 6.0 SPG, 5.3 BPG, 46.8 FG%, 32.1 3P%

 

Seattle Storm (16-18)

The Storm will be making their 12th appearance in the WNBA playoffs, and have won two WNBA Championships in the franchise’s history (2004 and 2010).

 

Players to Watch

Sue Bird: Bird enters the 2016 WNBA Playoffs seeking her third championship ring. During the regular season, Bird lead the WNBA in assist per game (5.8), and scored double-figure points in 24 of 33 games. 2016 saw her capture her fourth Olympic Gold Medal during the Summer Games.

Breanna Stewart: Stewart is the favorite to win the 2016 WNBA Rookie of the Year Award following a historic rookie season. Stewart ranked sixth in the WNBA in scoring (18.3 PPG), second in rebounding (9.3 RPG) and third in blocked shots (1.88 BPG). She also broke the WNBA record for most defensive rebounds in a single-season with 277. Stewart is the third Olympic Gold Medalist in this game as she captured her first Gold Medal this summer in Rio.

Jewell Loyd: Lloyd won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award last year, and has raised her game in her sophomore campaign. During the regular season, Loyd ranked eighth in the WNBA in scoring with 16.7 points per game to go with 3.3 assist and 3.4 rebounds per game.

 

Storm Stats vs. Atlanta (3 Games Played)

80 PPG, 34 RPG, 14 APG, 6.3 SPG, 5.0 BPG, 44.7 FG%, 22.9 3P%

 

2016 Head to Head Games

Dream 82, Seattle 91 – Philips Arena, Atlanta, Ga. (9/4/16)

The Atlanta Dream saw their late game rally fall short in a 91-82 loss to the Seattle Storm on September 4. Entering the second half down eight, the Dream surrendered a 23-10 run, and fell behind by as many as 26 points after allowing a season-high 32 points in the third quarter. Though the Dream rallied with 22-9 run and a 33 point fourth quarter, the deficit proved to great. Angel McCoughtry led all scorers in the game with 32 points, and Tiffany Hayes notched 20 points.

The Storm was led by four players who all reached double-figures in points: Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart both had 23 points, Jewell Loyd scored 17 points, and Alysha Clark posted 11 points.

Dream 77, Seattle 64 – Philips Arena, Atlanta, Ga. (7/5/16)

Sancho Lyttle posted a season-high 22 points and 11 rebounds and Angel McCoughtry scored 18 points to lead the Atlanta Dream to a 77-64 victory over the Seattle Storm. The Dream controlled the rebounds with a 38-27 advantage, including 16-4 on the offensive end, and outscored Seattle 25-10 in the fourth quarter. Tiffany Hayes added 15 points and Elizabeth Williams posted a career-high seven blocked shots for the Dream in this game.

Jewell Loyd scored all of her team-high 13 points in the third quarter and Breanna Stewart recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. As a team, the Storm turned the ball over 16 times.

Dream 81, Seattle 84 – Key Arena, Seattle, ash. (6/28/16)

The Atlanta Dream rallied from a 12-point deficit after going on a 17-9 run to close the third quarter. Though the Dream were able to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, the Storm scored the last seven points of the game en route to a 84-81 victory in Seattle. Rookie forward Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 38 points to go along with six rebounds in this game. Crystal Langhorne’s 18 points and Sue Bird’s 15 points and five assists rounded out Seattle’s top performers.

The Dream saw four players reach double-figures in points: Angel McCoughtry led the way with 22 points, Elizabeth Williams notched a career-high 21 points, Bria Holmes had 15 points, and Matee Ajavon posted 10 points.