As they finish off their best regular season in franchise history, the Atlanta Dream host the lowly Connecticut Sun on Monday in College Park, Ga.
Atlanta (28-14), led by first-year head coach and potential WNBA Coach of the Year Karl Smesko, breezed past last year’s win total of 15 on its way to setting a team record for victories in a single season. With two games remaining before the postseason, the Dream will square off with Connecticut (11-31) twice in three days.
Last time out, Atlanta extended its winning streak to four with a 104-85 win over the visiting Los Angeles Sparks on Friday. Atlanta star Rhyne Howard scored 37 points and tied a league record with nine 3-pointers, while the Dream tied the WNBA mark with 19 triples as the team won its 13th game in 16 tries.
“It feels good,” Smesko said of watching Howard’s record-tying night. “You get a sense that she’s really comfortable about her release and looking for good shots. It was just a remarkable game from Rhyne. …
“We’re a very good team. We’re playing well going into the playoffs, but it seems like a lot of teams are playing great right now. This is going to be an exceptional year for the league; you can’t miss any of these games.”
Allisha Gray paces Atlanta with 18.6 points per game, while Howard adds 17.5.
Connecticut is limping to the finish line but pulled off one of its best wins of the season on Saturday. The Sun beat the Phoenix Mercury 87-84 to snap a three-game losing skid.
After beginning the season 6-27, the Sun have won five of nine and will try to play spoiler against another playoff team on Monday.
“There has been a shift since the All-Star break. We can feel the group growing together more,” Connecticut head coach Rachid Meziane said. “The energy is more focused and more connected, the players are really locked in and we’ve been holding each other accountable. I think that we’ve found our chemistry and that wasn’t the case at the beginning of the season.”
Tina Charles, who played for Atlanta last season, leads the Sun with 16.6 points per game, followed by Marina Mabrey’s 14.4.
–Field Level Media
