Contenders in Storm, Dream match up in Atlanta

Following a three-day break for both teams, the Atlanta Dream and the Seattle Storm will each look to gain ground in their respective conferences when they meet Thursday night in College Park, Ga.

Atlanta (11-6) is coming off an impressive 90-81 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading New York Liberty on Sunday.

Brionna Jones led the way with 21 points and Allisha Gray followed with 20 for Atlanta in the win, but it's been the two-way play of guard Jordin Canada that's impressed first-year head Karl Smesko.

"She's had two really good games back-to-back for us," Smesko said of Canada, who had 15 points and eight assists against New York. "When she's playing well, there's no question that everybody else plays better, too."

Atlanta guard Rhyne Howard exited Sunday's game with an upper-body injury and was seen in a sling after returning to the bench. Howard averages 16.8 points per game, second on the team only to Gray's 19.5.

Seattle (10-7) begins a three-game East Coast trip against Atlanta before facing the Liberty and the Connecticut Sun. Last time out, Seattle suffered an 84-57 road loss to the Golden State Valkyries -- the franchise's worst setback since a 33-point defeat against Las Vegas in June 2023.

Seattle was outscored 50-30 in the second half -- including a 31-17 margin in the third quarter. Veteran Skylar Digggins, who led the Storm with 18 points, placed blame on much more than any single quarter.

"It was from the jump; I thought (Golden State) did everything better than us," Diggins said. "Credit to them, their effort was better, they got 50-50 balls, they ran the floor harder than we did. ... It was embarrassing, the effort on our part as professionals. We did not show up to play."

Despite the rough night, Seattle has won seven of 10 since a 3-4 start. Diggins paces the team with 18.9 points and 6.1 assists per game, while Nneka Ogwumike adds 17 points and team-high 7.9 rebounds per contest.

--Field Level Media