The title speaks for itself, but it doesn’t tell the whole story on the Atlanta Dream’s 79-74 loss against the Washington Mystics.
It wasn’t until the final 47 seconds of the game that the Dream found themselves back in it after trailing by as many as 16 points in the third quarter.
Atlanta found themselves creeping up on Washington after a pair of free throws by Angel Reese, and later a layup by Allisha Gray to cut the deficit to three (77-74). The gear was switched too late, however, after a jumpshot by Washington’s Shakira Austin sealed the deal for their sixth straight win.
“I think we just have to have the mentality to come out and be sharper,” Jordin Canada said in the post-game press conference. “Coach gave us a long talk in the locker room. It’s just about being mentally tough and having a championship preparation mindset. I think that’s what’s missing with our team is that we got to come in locked in, focused from the jump, and then play a good sound of basketball for 40 minutes, and not always having to bounce back.”
Canada also explained that the team has the resiliency and fight, but needs a mindset change in how they approach future games.
Early on, Atlanta struggled on offense, getting outplayed by Washington’s defense. The Mystics stayed consistent while guarding the rim, converted 20 points off the Dream’s turnovers and built an 11-point lead to open the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Dream attempted to close the margin, but Washington continued to come out on top with a string of 3-pointers and crucial blocks to take a 42-30 lead into halftime.
Atlanta shot 32.5% from the field and only managed to find a decent rhythm later in the second half. They also showed frustration after four of their starters ran into constant foul trouble during the half. The Dream still managed to stay in the game, however, by capitalizing on Washington’s 19 of 34 missed free throws and two key 3-pointers from Rhyne Howard, cutting the deficit to seven.
Howard exited shortly after drawing a foul from Sonia Citron. Her absence was a key piece missing from the Dream’s attempt to close out the game. A frustrated Howard could be seen covering her face on the bench as Atlanta looked to finish the comeback, but ultimately fell short in the end.
“I shared the frustration definitely with the officiating, but I made a point that we shot 32% from the field,” head coach Karl Smesko said. “That’s on us. There’s a lot of it that’s just on us. And we can be frustrated about what we feel to be obvious calls, but we have to be able to play through that.”
Gray led both teams in scoring with 26 points, along with six rebounds, two assists and one block. With her 22nd point of the night, she moved into fourth place on the Dream’s all-time scoring list.
Howard added 19 points, three rebounds and three blocks. Canada tallied nine points, three rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Reese added seven points, 16 rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Naz Hillmon had five points and four rebounds.
For the Mystics, Austin recorded 21 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Kiki Iriafen added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Citron had 14 points and three rebounds.
The Dream return home to face the Toronto Tempo on Monday, Aug. 10, at 8 p.m. ET.