Atlanta Dream end skid, defeat Seattle Storm 80-69

The Atlanta Dream ended a modest two game losing streak, and got back over .500 in this opening month of play, as they defeated the Seattle Storm in a rematch of the 2010 WNBA Finals 80-69. The loss drops the Storm to 1-5 to begin the year.

The entire game saw the lead see-saw between the two squads, as it was a one point advantage at half time for Seattle 36-35, but the first bucket of the second half would be posted by the Dream to go back up by a point. In the middle of the third, the Storm had a couple of seven point leads that the Dream were able to cut into, and the Dream ended the third quarter on a 10-2 run. The Dream would hold onto the lead for the entirety of the fourth quarter (with the exception of a 61-61 tie) and run away to the 80-69 final.

The Dream were lead by Tiffany Hayes, who had 20 points and five rebounds and Sancho Lyttle, who grabbed 10 boards and netted 13 points for yet another double-double. Angel McCoughtry helped out in two ways as well, dishing out eight assists to go with her 18 points.

Leading all scorers, however, was Seattle’s Crystal Langhorne, who also had a double-double, dropping 21 points and bringing down 11 boards. The Dream were able to hold WNBA superstar Sue Bird in total check, allowing her to score just three points, four assists and a rebound.

After averaging around a 30% shooting percentage, the Dream shot much better tonight, going 49% from the floor and 85% from the free throw line, but still shot miserably from beyond the arc (30%). The Dream also out assisted Seattle 20-17 and brought down more rebounds (32-25).

The Dream will have a travel day tomorrow before taking on the Connecticut Sun on Sunday afternoon.