The Atlanta Dream, behind 23 points from Rhyne Howard, rallied late to pull away from the valiant Connecticut Sun 93-76 Monday in Uncasville, Conn.
Connecticut led by seven points early in the second half and remained competitive well into the fourth quarter but couldn’t hang with the Dream in the closing minutes.
A pair of Saniya Rivers free throws pulled Connecticut within 76-74 with 5:07 to play. But a 17-2 run to close the game enabled Atlanta to pull away comfortably. Jordin Canada and Howard each scored six points in the closing flourish.
Atlanta shot 11-for-17 (64.7 percent) in the fourth quarter to post a 26-10 margin in the final period.
Atlanta (26-14) remains competitive in the tight group of WNBA squads seeking the No. 2 playoff seed behind Minnesota. The Lynx have clinched the top seed, but with the victory, Atlanta pulled even with the Las Vegas Aces for second place.
However, the Aces remain ahead due to the head-to-head tiebreaker, having won all three matchups this season.
All-Star guard Howard tallied 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting. Point guard Allisha Gray used 11-for-11 free-throw shooting to also notch 17 points. Naz Hillmon added 17 points, including 5-for-7 3-point shooting. Hillmon had one total 3-pointer made in her first three WNBA seasons, but has made 45 3-pointers this year.
Canada scored 15 points off the bench, with eight of those points coming in the fourth quarter. Brionna Jones contributed a double-double, with 10 points and 11 rebounds, eight of which came at the offensive end.
Connecticut (10-30) has been eliminated from the playoffs, but has played its best basketball down the stretch of the season. Center Tina Charles paced the Sun with 22 points and eight boards. Leila Lacan notched 17 points. Marina Mabrey added 12 points and Rivers dropped in 10 points off the bench.
Connecticut shot 50 percent (31-for-62) overall, but just 2-for-17 (11.8 percent) from 3-point range.
Atlanta takes a 2-1 lead in the series between these teams, with two more games upcoming in Atlanta on Sept. 8 and in Connecticut on Sept. 10 to close out the regular season.
–Field Level Media
