It was a big day for Allisha Gray, who poured in six 3-pointers and recorded a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the Atlanta Dream’s 89-81 victory over the Minnesota Lynx Sunday afternoon in College Park, Ga.
The double-double was Gray’s first of the year and Atlanta (26-14) defeated the league-leading Lynx (31-9) for the second time this year.
Angel Reese made history, as she set a single-season mark for double-doubles (29), scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Jordin Canada also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists, while Rhyne Howard scored 16 points.
Seventeen-year veteran DeWanna Bonner made her Atlanta debut, the crowd cheering when she entered the game with 6:56 left in the opening quarter. The six-time All-Star signed with the team on Thursday and scored seven points.
Rookie of the Year front runner Olivia Miles poured in 21 points to lead Minnesota, which has lost two in a row for the first time since July 6. Kayla McBride and Napheesa Collier chipped in 17 points apiece. Courtney Williams added 11.
Up 52-41 at the half, the Dream led by as many as 17 in the third quarter, but the Lynx fought back and were within 71-62 at the end of three after Williams’ jumper with 59 seconds left.
Minnesota trailed 73-66 after Miles’ drive to the hoop with 8:31 to play, poised to perhaps rally before Howard delivered a dagger with back-to-back 3-pointers as Atlanta flipped the momentum and led 79-66 with 5:54 remaining.
Gray and Reese got things rolling early, scoring eight points apiece as Atlanta surged in front 16-7 with 5:52 left in the first quarter.
But Minnesota only trailed 26-21 after one period behind 11 points from Collier.
Gray opened the second quarter with her fourth 3-pointer of the day, extending the Atlanta lead to 29-21. She added another moments later for a 32-23 lead with 8:52 left.
McBride’s 3-pointer with 3:02 to play cut the Atlanta lead to 44-39, but the Dream closed on an 8-2 run, punctuated by Reese’s shot in the lane with a second left that gave Atlanta a 52-41 advantage at halftime.
–Field Level Media
