Howard Sets 3-Point Record as Dream Roll Past Sun, 103-59

The Atlanta Dream opened their four-game sprint to the WNBA playoffs in emphatic fashion, blowing past the Connecticut Sun 103-59 on Thursday at Gateway Center Arena — and it was Rhyne Howard who stole the spotlight with a league record.

Howard Rewrites the Record Book

With 6:45 left in the game, Howard buried her 129th 3-pointer of the season — the first of the night — to break the WNBA single-season 3-point record previously held by Sabrina Ionescu, who set the mark in 2023. Howard threw her arm up in triumph as the record fell, capping a complete two-way performance: 10 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and four steals.

“I’m breaking a 3-point record every year, so I expect nothing less than that,” Howard said. “It’s what I like to do, and I’m going to keep doing it.”

Reese Powers the Offense

Angel Reese led all scorers with 30 points and 10 rebounds — doing it in under 25 minutes for the first time in WNBA history. It was her league-leading, record-extending 30th double-double of the season.

“I’m very well rested, and I was ready to play today, especially with this team, knowing how good we are … and right now it’s important to make sure we’re setting the tone and leaving a taste in everybody’s mouth about what the playoffs are going to look like,” Reese said.

A Night of Milestones

Howard wasn’t the only Dream player to make history. Allisha Gray set the franchise’s single-season scoring record, breaking the mark she set just last season, when she notched her 774th point on a first-quarter layup with 3:24 remaining. She finished with 10 points.

Naz Hillmon also reached a milestone, hitting the 100th 3-pointer of her career with 6:24 left in the first quarter, on her way to a nine-point night.

Dominant From the Jump

Atlanta built a 45-35 halftime lead behind Reese’s 19 first-half points on 8-of-10 shooting, then blew the game open with a 13-2 run to start the third quarter that pushed the lead to 76-46 entering the fourth.

The Dream defense was just as decisive. Atlanta held Connecticut to a season-low 59 points — topping the previous mark of 66 allowed against Portland on May 29 — and tied its season best for fewest 3-pointers allowed (3), as the Sun shot just 35.4% from the field and 15% (3 of 20) from deep.

Playoff Picture

The win moves Atlanta (27-14) into sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of Indiana and a half-game behind third-place Las Vegas, though both those teams have a game in hand. The top four seeds in each conference host first-round playoff series.

“I believe we’re going to go all the way, and obviously it’s going to be a lot of chatter on the outside,” Reese said. “But as long as we continue to focus on what’s in our locker room, that’s all that matters.”

Head Coach Karl Smesko liked what he saw as the Dream head into the postseason stretch.

“You want everybody in the locker room feeling, ‘hey we’ve got this, we’ve been putting it together, we’ve been making improvements, we’re ready to go,'” he said. “Today was a step in that direction.”