Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Dream
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The gear Karl Smesko has been promising for weeks finally showed up in full force Thursday night.
Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray combined for 58 points, Angel Reese rewrote the Dream record book on the glass, and Atlanta blitzed Connecticut from start to finish in a 104-69 win at Mohegan Sun Arena — the franchise’s largest margin of victory this season and its second straight blowout.
“I think we’re definitely finding it,” Naz Hillmon said of that extra gear. “I think that there’s been spurts for us throughout this season where we’ve kind of seen it, and then sometimes we take a couple of steps back. So, we’re really going to be able to see that once we get to the final game if we were able to kick it in.”
Howard and Gray Get Hot Early — and Stay There
Howard and Gray were nearly unstoppable, combining to shoot 15 of 23 from the field, 9 of 13 from three, and 19 of 21 at the free-throw line. Both finished with 29 points, with Gray matching her season high.
Howard set the tone in the first half, scoring 23 of her 29 points before the break as the Dream built a 51-32 halftime lead built on crisp, unselfish basketball — 11 of Atlanta’s 15 first-half field goals were assisted.
“Looking for quick, easy shots really got me going,” Howard said. “Obviously, my teammates, once they realized I was hot, kept feeding me, and kept going off the ball screens.”
The margin only grew from there. A Howard three pushed the lead to 30 with 6:19 left in the third quarter, and Jordin Canada’s triple with 5:12 to go in the fourth stretched it past 35.
Reese Breaks the Franchise Rebounding Record
Angel Reese made franchise history in the second quarter, grabbing her sixth rebound of the game — and 375th of the season — with 2:23 remaining before halftime to break the Dream’s single-season rebounding record, previously held by Tina Charles since 2024.
It capped a complete team effort on the glass and everywhere else in the box score: Atlanta finished with 45 rebounds, 19 assists, eight steals and a season-high nine blocks.
Defense Fuels the Blowout
As dominant as the offense was, Atlanta’s defense set the tone. Connecticut shot just 30% from the field — the lowest mark the Dream has allowed all season — while Atlanta caught fire from deep, hitting a season-high 53.8% (14 of 26) of its three-point attempts.
“Defense gives us the confidence to get easy looks after their turnovers or their mistakes,” Howard said. “Defense was the key tonight.”
The lone downside of the night came when Brionna Jones was forced to exit with a left leg injury, a situation the team will monitor in the days ahead.
Looking Ahead: A Statement Game Against Indiana
At 21-12, Atlanta has now won back-to-back games in dominant fashion with 11 regular-season games remaining. The Dream turn their attention quickly to a marquee matchup Sunday against Indiana at State Farm Arena, with the two clubs tightly bunched near the top of the standings — Atlanta fourth and Indiana fifth overall, first and second in the East.
“It’s a big game,” Smesko said. “Indiana’s playing pretty well, and we’re playing pretty well, too.”
If Thursday was any indication, the Dream are rounding into form at exactly the right time.
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