Rhyne Howard scored 29 of her season-high 37 points in the first half on Friday to help the surging Atlanta Dream post a 104-85 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Sparks in College Park, Ga.
The result leaves ninth-place Los Angeles on the verge of elimination from playoff contention. Atlanta moved into sole possession of second place, a half-game ahead of the Las Vegas Aces.
Maya Caldwell added 19 points on 5-for-7 3-point shooting off the bench for Atlanta (28-14), which won its fourth straight game and its 13th in the past 16 contests. Brionna Jones chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds for the Dream.
Dearica Hamby led the Sparks (19-22) with 26 points, while Kelsey Plum scored 20. Rickea Jackson had 17 for Los Angeles, which dropped its second straight against the Dream in as many games.
The Sparks, after trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half and by four at halftime, rallied to knot the score at 58 on Plum’s layup with 8:48 left in the third quarter.
Hamby’s back-to-back layups tied the score again at 64 before Caldwell scored eight in Atlanta’s 13-0 run to give the Dream a 77-64 edge with 2:35 remaining in the third.
Atlanta led 85-72 entering the final quarter. From there, the Sparks were held without a field goal until the 4:51 mark, when Julie Allemand’s 3-pointer cut Los Angeles’ deficit to 92-77. Jordin Canada, after missing her first eight shots, drilled a 3-pointer with 1:44 left to seal Atlanta’s victory.
With the Dream behind 6-2 early, Howard knocked down three consecutive triples to push the Dream ahead midway through the first quarter. Atlanta led 31-24 entering the second.
Allemand’s layup pulled Los Angeles within six before Te-Hina Paopao’s five straight points and Nia Coffey’s layup extended the Dream’s advantage to 41-28 at the 7:48 mark of the second quarter.
Howard continued her hot shooting as she accounted for 10 straight Atlanta points, giving the Dream a 55-45 lead with 1:10 remaining before the break. The Sparks finished the first half on a 7-1 spurt, including Hamby’s layup that cut Los Angeles’ halftime deficit to 56-52.
–Field Level Media
