Battling through a night of offensive woes from both teams, Tina Charles recorded a double-double (17 rebounds, 12 points) and moved up the WNBA’s all-time leaderboard in scoring as the Atlanta Dream were able to beat the Phoenix Mercury 72-63 on Wednesday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Allisha Gray led the Dream (10-17) with 21 points and Rhyne Howard mustered 19 in the team’s third straight win. Atlanta went 25-for-73 (34.2%) from the field and 9-for-31 (29.0%) from three.
Kahleah Copper had 22 points while Brittney Griner added 14 for Phoenix (15-14). In her second game as a Mercury and first against her former team, Monique Billings scored nine points against Atlanta.
Offenses struggle on both sides, Dream secure win late
While they planned to begin the game firing, the Mercury had a first quarter to forget.
Shooting 2-for-16 (12.5%) from the field and 0-5 from three despite getting quality looks, the shots were not falling for the Mercury who posted a season-low of six points in the first quarter. Phoenix had just four points until Natasha Mack scored a mid-range jumper with 1:53 left in the quarter.
“I would say some were pretty good, some were awful towards the end, but we just got to knock it down and be consistent,” Mack said about the team’s shot selection as a unit. “The shots we normally hit weren’t falling and our 3-point scorers, they were a little off today which is okay to have those games. We just have to bounce back and actually make our shots. That way we spread the floor, get the ball in and play inside outside.”
After seeing the Dream lead and the Mercury off to a shaky start, the offensive struggles flipped the other way.
Down 13 in the second, Phoenix scratched their way to take their first lead of the game 25-24 off of seven points by Copper during a 19-5 run. Besides Howard with 14 points in the first half, the rest of Atlanta scored 20.
When they saw their lead start to dissipate, the Dream called a timeout to make adjustments and it sparked a 10-1 run to finish the quarter 34-26.
Coming into the game, Charles was just nine points from WNBA legend Tina Thompson for second all-time in scoring as she had 7,479. Only 34 seconds into the fourth quarter, the former Mercury center reached her 11th point of the game to reach the feat and trail just Diana Taurasi (10,500).
Being a dynamic trio all game, Gray, Charles and Howard were all instrumental to the win. The 2024 WNBA All-Star Gray shot was shooting 50% from three at one point, Howard scored from anywhere she chose and Charles controlled the tempo on both ends of the floor.
“She’s had an unbelievable career, saw that tonight as she became the second all-time leading scorer,” Tibbetts said about Charles. “She did a hell of a job in the paint, rebounding the basketball and there was a lot of defensive rebounds to be had the way we shot it. She did a good job of it.”
“She’s had an unbelievable career.”
Our @AlecCipollini asked Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts about Atlanta Dream C Tina Charles and he praised her for surpassing Tina Thompson for second all-time in #WNBA scoring tonight.#ValleyTogether #WNBA #AtlantaDream https://t.co/XVkysrWt6b pic.twitter.com/0hWSZIY0y7
— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) August 22, 2024
Atlanta dominated in the fourth quarter, presenting a presence in the paint, getting the bounces for second-chance opportunities and limiting Phoenix to two points in the first 5:51 of the frame. The Dream heavily outrebounded Phoenix 47-33, including 16 offensive boards.
Back in action once again and to demonstrate what they took away from Wednesday’s game, both teams are set for a rematch on Friday night at 4:30 p.m. PT in Atlanta.
“Just got to watch film, I think we ran out of gas,” Billings said. “I am not saying we didn’t give our best effort, but we were kind of a step off from the beginning of the game. Just some adjustments that we’ll see by watching film, get new energy, get a new pace going and I think Friday we’ll come out with a better punch.”
“I think Friday we’ll come out with a better punch.”
Playing the Dream again in 2 days, Phoenix Mercury F Monique Billings (@moniquebillings) spoke to our @AlecCipollini about what the team will look to fix before the rematch.#ValleyTogether #WNBA #AtlantaDream pic.twitter.com/jTvqe6ifNZ
— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) August 22, 2024
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
