The Atlanta Dream are moving on! Atlanta defeated the Washington Mystics 93-75 Wednesday night at CareFirst Arena, completing a 2-0 first-round sweep and advancing to the WNBA Semifinals. It marks the Dream’s first trip past the opening round since 2018.
The Dream started Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Naz Hillmon and Angel Reese, improving to 2-0 in the postseason with that starting five. Atlanta’s all-time playoff record against Washington improved to 8-4.
After a competitive start, Atlanta took control and put the game away with a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter.
The Dream’s defense once again made its presence felt. Atlanta forced 19 turnovers and turned those mistakes into 23 points. The Dream also shot 90.9 percent from the free-throw line and 40.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Atlanta knocked down 13 three-pointers, tying the franchise postseason record for threes in a game.
All five Dream starters finished in double figures, led by Allisha Gray with 22 points, three assists and four steals. Gray also moved into third place in Dream history for 20-point postseason games and surpassed 200 career playoff points.
Jordin Canada delivered one of Atlanta’s biggest performances of the night, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds, 11 assists and three steals. It marked Canada’s third career postseason double-double. She also moved into fourth place on the Dream’s all-time postseason assists list.
Rhyne Howard added 15 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block, while Angel Reese finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three blocks.
Naz Hillmon rounded out Atlanta’s double-digit starters with 10 points and three rebounds.
“All we cared about was winning and advancing, and everyone did their part,” Dream Head Coach Karl Smesko said.
Canada said Atlanta’s focus throughout the season has been on learning how to finish games.
“I think this season we really put an emphasis on making sure we’re doing the things that we need to do to close out games,” Canada said.
DeWanna Bonner contributed seven points and two rebounds off the bench, while Isobel Borlase added five points, two rebounds and three assists.
Now the Dream’s postseason journey continues.
No. 4 Atlanta will face the No. 8 New York Liberty in a best-of-five semifinal series with a trip to the WNBA Finals on the line. New York advanced after eliminating the No. 1-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the opening round. (WNBA)
The matchup gives Atlanta another opportunity against a familiar opponent. The Dream closed the regular season with back-to-back victories over New York at Barclays Center, including an 83-65 win in the regular-season finale that secured Atlanta the No. 4 seed. (New York Liberty)
Atlanta will have home-court advantage in the semifinals, hosting Games 1— Sunday, Oct. 4 | New York at Atlanta | State Farm Arena
Game 2 — Wednesday, Oct. 7 | New York at Atlanta | State Farm Arena
Game 3 — Friday, Oct. 9 | Atlanta at New York | Barclays Center
Game 4 — Sunday, Oct. 11* | Atlanta at New York | Barclays Center
Game 5 — Wednesday, Oct. 14* | New York at Atlanta | State Farm Arena
*If necessary. Game times are still to be announced. (WNBA)
For the first time since 2018, Atlanta is back in the WNBA Semifinals — and the Dream are now four wins away from a trip to the WNBA Finals.
