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Dream look to stay on a roll when they host Mystics (Jul 14, 2018)
The Atlanta Dream have been on a record-setting roll for the past week but would be happy to settle for another win when they host the Washington Mystics on Sunday afternoon at McCamish Pavilion on the campus of Georgia Tech University in Atlanta.
Atlanta (11-9) is coming off a dominating 98-74 victory over Indiana on Friday in which seven Dream players scored 10 or more points in a game for the first time in franchise history.
Tiffany Hayes had 16 points in the win, and Elizabeth Williams and Brittney Sykes scored 14 points each for Atlanta. Angel McCoughtry, Jessica Breland, Alex Bentley and Damiris Dantas each had 10 for the Dream, who have won three straight games and four out their past five to move to a season-best two games above .500.
The win over Indiana came days after Atlanta defeated Washington 106-89 on July 11 in the first matchup between the teams this season. In that game, the Dream had four players score 20-plus points and distribute five-plus assists to set a WNBA record.
"When you get on a roll, it is the beauty of sports in general, confidence is a beautiful thing," Atlanta coach Nicki Collen said. "When the person next to you is making shots and you get a little cushion, it becomes a little easy to step up and take the next shot. There is not a ton of pressure when you are playing with a 12-point lead to take an open 3 and make it 15."
Averaging just 78.3 points per game in 2018, the Dream have seen an increase in offensive production in July, and after the team returned home from a lengthy road trip. Atlanta has scored 90.6 points per game in the first five outings this month.
Washington (13-8) enters Sunday's game as the No. 3 team in the WNBA after defeating Chicago 88-72 on Friday night in the nation's capital.
Elena Delle Donna and rookie Ariel Atkins scored 25 points each, with Atkins setting a career high for points. Kristi Toliver contributed 13 points and LaToya Sanders added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Mystics.
The Mystics snapped a two-game losing streak by clamping down on their defense after allowing a combined 203 points in those losses.
Washington grabbed 39 total rebounds and 16 offensive rebounds in the game, tying season highs in each category. The win allowed the Mystics to sweep the three-game season series with the Sky.
Sunday's game is the first of five consecutive road games for the Mystics. Delle Donna said the win helps Washington's confidence as it heads out on the road.
" 1/2It) just kind of reset us," Delle Donna said. "It got us back to playing the way we can. We were really upset after that game against Atlanta, and we needed to kind of clean it up tonight to get us ready to get on the road."
The two squads play for the third and final time in Atlanta on July 31.
