photo credit / Atlanta Journal Constitution
Suns shine over the Dream 72-61 in Atlanta Sunday afternoon. The Dream are looking to bounce back after their lost to the New York last Friday night. Cheyenne Parker is on the board early in the start of today’s quarter. This is similar to start of the last game played. Her team is hoping to keep the momentum steady. Atlanta’s Coach Tanisha Wright, was concerned with the lack of shots taken from the 3-point line by her team against New York. It was a tough shooting night for the Dream as well as the lack of action on the defensive side of the court. Atlanta is looking to make some improvements on their game plan at the start of the 1st quarter. In the middle of the quarter, Connecticut is getting good looks at the basket and are able to gain an early lead. Sun’s Jonquel Jones comes with a strong scoring drive on the offensive end of the court for the Suns. The Dream try to answer back and become aggressive on the defensive side. This in turn lead to an explosive shoot out from both teams and several lead changes! Sun’s Courtney Williams nails a dagger at the end of the 1st giving her team the lead 19-17. Atlanta displays great ball movement in the half, but failed to complete scoring when it was needed. Sun’s Williams finds her mojo and becomes unattainable against the Dream, as she brings the Suns to a 31-17 lead with 3:40 left in the half.
The start of the 3rd, Atlanta is looking to create some stops over the Sun’s momentum. Connecticut outscored the Dream 20-5 in the first half. Rhyne Howard scores her first three of the game to pick up a spark for Atlanta. However, on the other end of the court, Cheyenne Parker picks up her 4th personal foul in the 3rd. The Connecticut Sun’s are on a huge scoring advantage against Atlanta 28-17 on the board. The Suns also have a huge height advantage making them well able to use this against the Dream allowing them to create multiple, second chance points. This resulting in the Dream not finding their mode offensively. The Suns are ranked #2 in the league for back to back buckets. They continued to control the game with their physicality. Courtney Williams, who remained dominant gained a double-double – 17 points and 10 rebounds and the leading scorer for Connecticut. Alyssa Thomas contributed a double-double as well – 15 points, 11 rebounds. Atlanta tried to answer back on the Sun’s scoring with Aari McDonald firing back and ending the night with 17 points and the lead scorer for the Dream. However, Courtney Williams continued to be the thorn in Atlanta’s side, putting on a show in Gateway Arena. The Suns shine over the Dream 72-61.
