Dream blow out Fever as Howard continues sparkling rookie campaign
Rhyne Hulbert scored 19 points, Cheyenne Parker added 17, and the Atlanta Dream beat Indiana Fever 101-79 Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
Erica Wheeler scored 16 points in the season, while rookie Kristy Wallace had a record-breaking 15 for Atlanta. After playing in Australia for the past four seasons, Wallace was a Baylor second-round selection in 2018. She made her WNBA debut in season opener.
Howard scored three-pointers in the opening quarter to give Atlanta a 11-2 lead. The Dream never trailed. Wheeler scored a basket late in the second quarter to give Atlanta a lead of 17 points. Indiana was left trailing by double digits throughout the second half.
Atlanta (4-1) is off to its best start since 2017 when the Dream won four of their first five games before winning just eight of the last 29 — including a nine game losing streak.
Player of the Week <a href=”https://twitter.com/howard_rhyne?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@howard_rhyne</a> scores a game-high 19 PTS in the <a href=”https://twitter.com/AtlantaDream?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@AtlantaDream</a> win🏀<br><br>Howard has now scored 102 PTS in her first 5 career games, becoming the 7th player in WNBA History to score 100+ points through their first 5 games🔥 <a href=”https://t.co/4okISaEc5U”>pic.twitter.com/4okISaEc5U</a>
—@WNBA
Indiana’s Victoria Vivians was the leading scorer (2-4), scoring 16 points. Danielle Robinson, Kelsey Mitchell each scored 12 points.
NaLyssa, the No. The Fever’s No. 2 selection in the draft last month, NaLyssa Smith, was unable to play due to an ankle injury sustained in Atlanta’s 85-79 victory over the Fever. Emily Engstler was selected two picks behind Smith and took her place in the starting lineup. She finished with seven points, a season-high of 10 rebounds, and Smith was taken second.
Sun coast to win over Liberty
DeWanna Bonner was the Connecticut Sun’s season debut player. She scored 12 points in the decisive half, and the Sun beat New York Liberty by 92 to 65 on Tuesday night.
Natasha Heideman scored a season-high 15, Brionna Jones scored 14, Jonquel, Jones scored 13, and Alyssa Tom had 12 points and four steals. Courtney Williams also missed the first two games due to suspension, scoring four points on 1-of-4 shooting in 18 minutes.
Conducting a clinic. <a href=”https://twitter.com/NatishaHiedeman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@NatishaHiedeman</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CTSun?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CTSun</a> <a href=”https://t.co/PFyCzgNC1S”>pic.twitter.com/PFyCzgNC1S</a>
—@ConnecticutSun
The Sun (2-1), which missed their first six attempts, committed two turnovers. New York scored ten of the game’s first 12 points. Michaela Onyenwere’s three-pointer gave the Liberty a 15-11 lead at 2:48. Brionna Jones answered with a layup and Heideman followed with a three to spark an 18-0 run over the next nearly-four minutes to take the lead for good.
Betnijah Layney was the New York leader (1-4), scoring 16 points, while Stefanie Dolson had 13.
29 turnovers were committed by the Liberty, who have now lost four consecutive games since beating Connecticut 81-79 in their season opener. New York broke the franchise record for turnovers in a single game with 30 against Phoenix Mercury in 1998. It also had 29 turnovers against Los Angeles Sparks last May.
The WNBA record was set by the Utah Starzz with 33 turnovers against Phoenix Mercury in August 1997.
SourceCBC Sports
