The Atlanta Dream walked off the floor Saturday knowing they let another opportunity slip away.<\/p>\n
Despite dominating the rebounding battle, fighting back from an early 10-point deficit and holding a three-point lead with just over three minutes remaining, the Dream couldn\u2019t finish, falling 88-83 to the Golden State Valkyries at Gateway Center Arena. The loss completed Golden State\u2019s season sweep of Atlanta and extended the Dream\u2019s losing streak to five games.<\/p>\n
For Dream fans, this was one that hurts.<\/p>\n
Atlanta showed the grit and resilience that has defined much of its season. After the Valkyries raced out to a 12-2 lead behind hot shooting from Cecilia Zandalasini and Gabby Williams, the Dream answered with an 11-0 run, highlighted by an Allisha Gray three-pointer that gave Atlanta its first lead.<\/p>\n
The game remained physical and tightly contested throughout, featuring 14 ties and 22 lead changes. Although Golden State closed the first half on a 6-0 run behind Janelle Sala\u00fcn to take a seven-point advantage, Atlanta refused to fold.<\/p>\n
The Dream opened the third quarter with seven consecutive points to erase the deficit and eventually grabbed a 77-74 lead with 3:16 remaining. From there, however, everything unraveled.<\/p>\n
Golden State closed the game on a decisive 14-6 run. Fresh off being named a WNBA All-Star starter, Gabby Williams delivered in the biggest moments, tying the game with an and-one layup before banking home a tough isolation jumper in the final minute. Veronica Burton added 21 points and five assists as the Valkyries won their fourth straight game.<\/p>\n
The loss was especially frustrating because Atlanta controlled several key statistical categories.<\/p>\n
The Dream outrebounded Golden State 51-39, including 12 offensive rebounds that created numerous second-chance opportunities. Angel Reese once again dominated the glass, finishing with a game-high 13 rebounds, including five offensive boards, while providing energy on both ends of the floor.<\/p>\n
But basketball games are often decided by execution, and that\u2019s where Atlanta came up short.<\/p>\n
The Valkyries knocked down 13 three-pointers compared to the Dream\u2019s eight while shooting 38.2% from beyond the arc. Golden State also forced 17 turnovers and recorded a franchise-record 15 steals, creating the extra possessions that ultimately proved to be the difference.<\/p>\n
Atlanta also struggled at the free-throw line, something Reese addressed immediately after the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo excuse. Absolutely no excuse,\u201d Reese said. \u201cWe just have to be better. If it\u2019s shooting 100 free throws after practice, that\u2019s what it is. We haven\u2019t shot great from the free-throw line or with our field goals. We just have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gray was also asked about several physical calls during the game but declined to dwell on the officiating, choosing instead to focus on the team\u2019s response.<\/p>\n
More importantly, the veteran guard emphasized that the Dream\u2019s confidence hasn\u2019t disappeared despite the five-game skid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the biggest thing is just remaining positive,\u201d Gray said. \u201cLosing five games in a row, it sucks, but the morale in the locker room is great. We\u2019re all sticking together. We just got to figure it out and get over this hump.\u201d<\/p>\n
With five games remaining before the All-Star break, Gray believes the Dream still have time to turn things around.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have five games before the All-Star break, so it\u2019s time for us to really lock in and come out with wins,\u201d she said. \u201cBut overall, everybody\u2019s spirit and morale is still up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Atlanta Dream walked off the floor Saturday knowing they let another opportunity slip away. Despite dominating the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":743742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[3444,99,434],"class_list":["post-743741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-atlanta-dream","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/743742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}