The Connecticut Sun need to start somewhere to get their season together, and they’ve had a few days to prepare for their next chance at a reset as the Sun (1-6) take on the visiting Atlanta Dream (5-2) on Friday night.
“Every time we play,,” said Sun coach Rachid Meziane, “we compete. … Understand, we can not be a team that can choose to just play offense or play defense. To win games, for us we have to concentrate on both ends of the court.”
Connecticut last played Sunday and suffered a 100-52 loss at New York. That game included the Sun shooting 19-for-61 (31.1 percent) from the field — when the team’s number of field goals matched their turnover total. Only Tina Charles and reserve Jacy Sheldon reached double figures with 10 points apiece.
“No matter what the score is, we’re going to keep playing and keep playing hard,” Sheldon said. “That’s the mentality.”
The Dream are climbing in the opposite situation as they own a four-game winning streak. They’re coming off a week-long layoff since last Friday’s 94-87 victory at Seattle.
In the Seattle game, Rhyne Howard’s 33 points marked the first time an Atlanta player reached the 30-point level this season. That boosted her scoring average to 17.6 points per game, which trails only Allisha Gray (21.4) on the Dream.
Atlanta has received a boost from rookie Te-Hina Paopao, who has averaged 5.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists while logging about 16 minutes per game.
“It’s hard coming in as a rookie, but especially as a rookie point guard,” Gray said. “She always comes in ready when her name is called and she always makes big baskets for us.”
Dream center Brittney Griner played a season-low 15 minutes in the Seattle game — amassing just two points and one rebound — while coming off a knee injury. With another week of healing, she should be ready for more production.
“We know that ‘BG’ is a big part of what we’re going to be doing here,” said Atlanta coach Karl Smesko. “I’m sure she’ll get back to just what she was doing before her injury.”
This is the second game in 13 days between Atlanta and Connecticut. The Dream defeated the Sun 79-55 on May 25 at home, marking what’s now Connecticut’s second-lowest point total of the season. Gray and Nia Coffey posted 18 points apiece for the Dream.
–Field Level Media
