Allisha Gray scored a game-high 22 points on Thursday to help the Atlanta Dream post an 89-78 victory over the Seattle Storm in College Park, Ga.
Rhyne Howard added 19 points, while Angel Reese added 18 points and 11 rebounds. Jordin Canada tallied 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Dream (13-9), who snapped a season-long five-game losing streak.
Natisha Hiedeman led Seattle (6-18) with 20 points and Dominique Malonga finished with 15 points and nine boards. Flau’jae Johnson scored 14 points for the Storm, who dropped their 10th road game in 12 tries. Seattle shot 3-for-20 (15%) on 3-point attempts while committing 23 turnovers.
Trailing by 17 at halftime, Seattle trimmed its deficit to 11 after Johnson’s three-point play at the 7:51 mark of the third quarter.
After Malonga’s layup again cut the lead to 11, Howard’s 3-pointer began a 7-0 Atlanta spurt. The Dream took their first 20-point advantage on Reese’s layup with 4:15 remaining in the third.
Seattle closed the gap to 74-59 entering the final quarter. Hiedeman drilled a deep 3-pointer to cut the Dream’s lead to 84-74 with 3:09 left.
Johnson drilled a pair of foul shots to pull the visitors within eight, but Atlanta scored the next five points to seal the win.
Atlanta finished the first quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 29-19 edge. The Dream made 10 of their 12 free throw attempts in the first 10 minutes.
Gray’s 3-pointer pushed Atlanta’s lead to 37-23 at the 7:53 mark of the second quarter. After Johnson’s layup pulled Seattle within 46-35, Howard’s five straight points and Madina Okot’s basket extended the margin to 18.
Reese’s layup with 14.3 seconds remaining sent the Dream into halftime with a 55-38 lead. Gray’s 14 first-half points led all scorers, while Malonga’s 10 paced the Storm.
–Field Level Media
