COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — The starting lineup continues to carry the short-handed Sparks, but that wasn’t enough against Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream in the opener of a four-game trip.
Reese had 23 points and 13 rebounds for her WNBA-leading 16th double-double of the season, including a go-ahead 3-pointer in the fourth quarter that propelled the Dream to a 101-92 victory over the Sparks on Monday night.
Reese, who missed Atlanta’s previous game with a lower leg injury, shot 7 for 11 from the field and made all eight of her free-throw attempts in 32 minutes. Allisha Gray added 20 points and Jordin Canada had 16 points and nine assists for the Dream (14-10), who had dropped six of their past seven games. Rhyne Howard scored 11 points, while Naz Hillmon and Isobel Borlase chipped in 10 apiece.
Erica Wheeler led the Sparks (10-12) with 20 points, followed by Nneka Ogwumike’s 19 and Rae Burrell’s 18. Ariel Atkins scored 13 points and Dearica Hamby added 12 for the Sparks, who got all but 10 of their points from the starting five while losing for the sixth time in their past nine games.
The Sparks continue to play without All-Star guard Kelsey Plum (lower left leg), who missed her sixth straight game, and defensive anchor Cameron Brink (left ankle), who sat out her eighth consecutive game.
After Atlanta extended its 11-point halftime lead to 14, the Sparks responded with a 12-2 run, cutting the deficit to four on Atkins’ jumper with 4:29 remaining in the third.
The Dream built the margin back to double figures (74-64) on a pair of Reese free throws and held an 83-75 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Sparks began the fourth with eight straight points, knotting the score at 83-all on a layup by Burrell. With 5:30 left, Hamby’s driving layup gave the visitors an 87-85 lead – their first lead since the opening minutes of the second quarter.
Gray’s bank shot and Reese’s go-ahead 3-pointer – she got a friendly roll for just her third 3-point basket of the season – started a 9-0 Dream run, helping Atlanta take a 94-87 lead with 1:56 left. Howard’s third 3-pointer secured the victory with 36 seconds remaining.
An early 10-0 run gave Atlanta a 21-13 edge with 2:27 left in the opening quarter. Kiana Williams’ 3-pointer to beat the buzzer trimmed the Sparks’ deficit to four entering the second.
From there, Gray and Howard made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Dream a 32-28 lead. Wheeler’s fadeaway pulled the visitors within two at the 4:26 mark of the second.
Reese capped a 7-0 spurt with her tip-in with less than a second left, giving the Dream a 59-48 halftime lead. Wheeler’s 13 first-half points led all scorers, while Reese paced the Dream with 12.
UP NEXT
The Sparks continue their four-game trip at Minnesota on Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT.