(Seattle storms pass Atlanta 82-72)
(photo credit / Meg Oliphant – Getty Images) Sunday afternoon the Atlanta Dream and Seattle Storm go head to head with a lot of talent on the court. Seattle is very athletic and good on transitions. The 2022 standings show that the Storm is above the Dream who are #6 and they want to try and hold on to this spot to secure their playoff hopes. As we’re off to the races at the start of the game, the Storm’s Jewell Loyd drops a 20-foot dagger. Seattle is off to a strong start. During this 5-0 lead, Atlanta Coach Tanisha Wright gets hit with a technical foul as she gets in the face, yelling at an official for not calling a foul during the quarter. There is a lot of action, but not much scoring in the 1st. The points in the paint are adding up for Atlanta – 8 points on the board. The Dream are displaying great ball movement as Naz Hillmon contributes 5 points as well as Rhyne Howard who matches the same. At the end of the 1st, both teams still break even at 19. Coming into the 2nd, Storm’s Epiphanny Prince comes out explosive with back to back scoring, giving Seattle the lead 24-21. Tina Charles seems to catch fire for the Storm with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5-6 from the field. Seattle has their largest lead of the game. Tina Charles continues to show no mercy to Atlanta’s defense. (32-25) Tina Charles also becomes the 4th WNBA player to reach 7,000 career scoring points. Atlanta Dream try to chip away at Seattle’s lead before halftime, but to no avail. (41-34) Tina Charles leads all scorers with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
After halftime, it seemed like Tina Charles picked back up where she left off with 24 points in counting. The crowd jumps to their feet as Sue Bird scores her first 3-pointer of the game. Breanna Stewart comes back and scores a 3-pointer as well. The Storm adds to their lead at 53-41. Atlanta Dream’s Aari McDonald keeps her team around to keep it “a ball game”. The lead is now down to a single digit deficit. A huge collision between Tiffany Hayes and Breanna Stewart puts the crowd in a gasp as both players appeared to be okay after a hard collision on the court. Seattle Storm still leads 63-53 with 40 ticks left in the 3rd. In the 4th, the Storm has scored 11 points off of Atlanta’s 9 turnovers. Seattle has built the lead to a 12 point deficit. Rhyne Howard “never say die” drains a three from downtown and brings the lead to only 6 points (74-68) with 3:42 left to play. Howard is at 19 points for the afternoon, but the Storm never takes their foot off the gas and put an exclamation point on the game. Seattle Storms pass Atlanta 82-72.
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