Allisha Gray led all scorers with 26 points and Angel Reese produced her ninth double-double of the season with 15 points and 17 rebounds as the Atlanta Dream won 102-77 over the host Toronto Tempo on Sunday afternoon in a Commissioner’s Cup matchup.
Gray made five 3-pointers and dished out seven assists while Rhyne Howard made four treys and scored 24 to go along with six rebounds and three blocks. Isobel Borlase poured in 17 points off the bench for the Dream (9-4, 4-2 Commissioner’s Cup), who have won three of their last four games.
Isabelle Harrison scored 17 points for the expansion Tempo (7-7, 2-3) before her day ended with 6:05 left in the third quarter after wrapping up Reese and fouling her hard near the basket. Harrison was called for a Flagrant 2 and ejected.
Julie Allemand tallied 13 points and six assists for Toronto, which has lost two straight. Maria Conde and Brittney Sykes scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Atlanta opened the second half with five straight points, including a 3-pointer by Gray that stretched its lead to 52-39 at the 8:43 mark.
Toronto was within eight at 62-54 with 2:06 left after Allemand knocked down a 3-pointer but Howard answered with a three-ball as Atlanta carried a 70-59 lead into the fourth. The Dream pulled away in the final quarter, outscoring the Tempo 32-18.
This was the teams’ first-ever meeting. The Tempo started strong, making six of their first 10 shots, including a 3-pointer in the corner from Harrison, and led 14-6 with four minutes left in the first quarter.
Sykes’ jumper less than a minute later gave the Tempo their first double-digit advantage at 16-6.
The Dream struggled to answer, missing their first nine attempts from 3-point range before Howard buried a deep shot with 1:29 left that ended an 8-0 run and cut the Toronto lead to 19-9.
The Tempo led 25-13 after one quarter but the Dream opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run, getting within 25-18 after Gray drilled a 3-pointer with 9:14 to go.
The Dream kept the pressure on and closed their gap to 30-26 after Borlase knocked down a long range shot with 7:04 remaining in the half.
Borlase tied the score at 30-all on a layup at the 6:15 mark. The Dream grabbed their first lead when Naz Hillmon drew a foul on a made layup and hit the ensuing free throw for a 35-33 lead with 4:53 to play.
Howard finished the half strong, scoring inside and drawing a foul with three seconds left. Her free throw helped Atlanta cap a quarter where it outscored Toronto 34-14 and led 47-39 at the break.
–Field Level Media
