The Atlanta Dream will try to end a two-game slide on Wednesday against the host Washington Mystics before the teams meet again two days later in Georgia.
The Dream (5-7) are coming off a 110-80 loss to the visiting Liberty on Friday, while Washington (8-5) saw a three-game winning streak snapped in an 89-88 loss in overtime at New York on Sunday.
Atlanta fell behind 10-2 and never recovered. The Liberty led by eight after the first quarter and by 19 at intermission before cruising in the second half. Atlanta struggled to defend the perimeter, which helped the Liberty go 17-of-35 from 3-point range.
But Dream coach Tanisha Wright was more critical of the referees than her team’s performance in its most-lopsided loss of the season.
“Officiating has been notoriously bad all year,” Wright added. “I’ve never sat up here and blamed officials and I won’t blame the officials. But we’re expected to play at a high level every single night. These athletes — on both sides — put in a lot of work to perfect their craft and the officials need to rise to that same occasion. They should be held to that same standard.
Allisha Gray averages a team-high 17.8 points to go along with 5.5 rebounds per game, while Rhyne Howard averages 17.3 points and 5.1 rebounds. Cheyenne Parker averages a team-high 7.3 rebounds to go along with 15.5 points per game.
Meantime, the Mystics jumped out to a 23-6 lead against the Liberty before falling apart down the stretch. Washington took a 77-72 lead on Natasha Cloud’s driving layup with 1:04 left before the Liberty rallied to force overtime, where Breanna Stewart’s three-point play with 19.7 seconds proved to be the difference.
“I thought we controlled most of the game,” Washington coach Eric Thibault said. “It was in our hands to close it. And you find out a lot about yourselves in games like this.”
Mystics center Shakira Austin — the team’s leading rebounder (7.8 rpg) and second-leading scorer (11.4 ppg) — was carried off the court after injuring her hip early in the fourth quarter. Thibault said Tuesday that Austin would be re-evaluated in three weeks but doesn’t need surgery.
Washington is led by Elena Delle Donne, who averages a team-high 18.1 points to go along with 6.3 rebounds per game, while Ariel Atkins chips in 11.3 points per game. Cloud averages 11.3 points and a team-leading 6.0 assists per game.
–Field Level Media
