Before the Atlanta Dream begin a six-game, 17-day road trip, the team will welcome the Golden State Valkyries on Monday in College Park, Ga., for the first meeting between the two franchises.
Atlanta (11-7) enters play having dropped three of its last four, including an 80-79 setback on Thursday against the Seattle Storm, in which Skylar Diggins scored the game-winning layup with 3.4 seconds left. The Dream led by four with less than a minute remaining before Seattle rallied for the win.
First-year head coach Karl Smesko’s team will likely have second-leading scorer Rhyne Howard (16.8 points per game) back for Monday’s game. Howard, who was named an All-Star reserve on Sunday, missed the Seattle game with an upper-body injury but returned to practice on Sunday.
With an important scorer sidelined, Smesko is trying to take a positive look at things, even as disappointing as the Dream’s last result was.
“Very frustrating that we didn’t close that game out,” Smesko said. “But for us to be in this position, it shows the quality of team we have. We just have to finish off these games. I think we have the makings of a great team. Now we only have a little over half a season to get where we need to get to, and that includes me.”
Atlanta trails the New York Liberty by one game atop the Eastern Conference leaderboard but will have to make up ground away from home, as the Dream won’t return to Georgia until July 29, when they face Golden State again. Allisha Gray leads Atlanta with 19.1 points per game, while Brionna Jones adds 14 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest.
Golden State (9-8) had its two-game winning streak snapped against the Minnesota Lynx in an 82-71 road loss — the Valkyries’ first of four straight on the road. In the first season for the expansion club, Golden State has enjoyed a 7-3 record at home, but has dropped five of seven away from the Chase Center — an issue head coach Natalie Nakase’s team will look to resolve on Monday.
“We need to try and use that hostility that’s going against us,” Nakase said. “You either block it out or you pretend they’re cheering for us. I think that’s how our players see it. I think they’ve done a great job of staying focused.”
Kayla Thornton leads Golden State with 14.9 ppg, followed by Tiffany Hayes’ 14. Hayes paced the team with 23 points in the loss at Minnesota.
–Field Level Media
