Subscribe
Follow Us
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Dream had to give it their all in the second game of a back-to-back against the Connecticut Sun. There were already a few things working against the Dream before the game even started. Te-Hina Paopao was out for the game after suffering a facial injury, and Brittney Griner was ruled out minutes before the game with a left knee injury.
With the Dream probably already gassed, that meant players would have to step up more than ever, and in fact, that's what they did, getting a 79-55 win against the Sun. Maya Caldwell came up big for the Dream on both sides of the ball today, but it was her defense that was clutch. Marina Mabrey was her matchup, one of the more consistent 3-point shooters in the league, and she helped hold her to 4-of-14 shooting for 12 points.
“I take pride in my defense,” Caldwell said after the game. “I know the best players will usually be my assignment. Mabrey is a great shooter and a great player. I was just locked in from the minute the game ended yesterday, knowing that I’d have to pick her up full court and keep her from getting as many touches as she wants.”
“Maya is really good,” head coach Karl Smesko said. “She’s a high-level defender, she can shoot it, she can handle the ball, and attack the rim a little bit. Her, Rhyne [Howard], and Allisha [Gray] have really been locking people up, and she’s been getting a lot of minutes against other teams’ best players. She’s been taking that challenge and doing really well with it.”
Not only was it Caldwell who played well, but Naz Hillmon stepped up with Griner out and provided some quality minutes.
“Naz has really been good with all of our minutes so far,” Smesko said. “I said we were going to play her more today, and things worked out where I was able to keep my word.”
Just like yesterday, the Dream kept it close with their opponent in the second half, but exploded in the third quarter to take a sizeable lead. Smesko said there was no pep talk at halftime, but more about making adjustments, and also shots.
“In the first half, we got some good shots, but we were like 3-for-18 from three, so it’s going to be tough to extend any kind of lead when you’re not shooting as well,” Smesko said. “With as much as they’ve been playing, that can be expected.”
Dream pull away in the second half against Sun
Article Continues Below
When shots haven't been falling for the Dream this season, they've had to lean on their defense to carry them at times. After a while, the offense starts to click, and when both sides of the ball are rolling, they're hard to stop.
“It’s easier to get back on defense when the shots are going through the net instead of just picking up in transition,” Caldwell said.
“You just have to have poise and just keep going,” Nia Coffey said. “Sometimes you can’t control that, but there are other things in the game that you can control, and making sure you can apply that pressure on the defensive end to get that back.”
Coffey was hit in the face in the first quarter with an elbow and had to leave the game for some time. With the team already down a few bodies, losing a key piece like her was tough, but she was able to return and finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
“We have such a great team, we have the talent, but we’re really just great people,” Coffey said. “We’re going to do what we need for each other, so it’s easy to come out here and play for this team.”
With two straight wins, the Dream are finding their stride, and they'll have to keep the momentum going as they play in two days on the road against the Los Angeles Sparks.
