The Atlanta Dream look to continue their impressive start to the 2016 WNBA season as the ladies return home to begin a home stand against Eastern Conference rivals, the Washington Mystics. Today's game marks the first of four straight at home for Atlanta as the Dream will also face Minnesota (6/10), Connecticut (6/12) and Chicago (6/17) before traveling to once again battle the Mystics in Washington D.C. on 6/18 in the Dream’s only back-to-back of the 2016 schedule.
Entering today's game, the Dream are riding high on a five-game winning streak after an 83-77 road win against the Connecticut Sun on Friday. The Dream have been winning with defense and transiton scoring and it is shown among the WNBA league leaders. Sancho Lyttle leads the WNBA in steals (3.0) and Elizabeth Williams tops the charts in blocks (2.6). In addition, Angel McCoughtry ranks 5th in scoring at 19.3 ppg while Tiffany Hayes checks in at 11th (16.7 ppg). Lyttle is also fourth in the WNBA with 8.6 rebounds per game. Although the Dream have trailed at halftime in four of their six victories this season, they have shown how dominant they are to close games in the second half.
The Mystics, are coming off back to back losses at the hands of the Chicago Sky. On Friday, Elena Delle Donne had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists and the Chicago Sky built a 24-point halftime lead in a 98-72 victory. Atlanta leads the all-time series with the Mystics 20-14 and is 11-6 in home games overall in the series. Last season, Atlanta went 4-0 against the Mystics and haven't lost to this team at home since 2013.
Angel Mccoughtry averaged 20.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.1 steals, and two assists per game against Washington. Tiffany Hayes averaged around 13.5 points per contest against the Mystics as well. If the Dream are going to win today, they'll need their stars to continue making a huge impact for Atlanta offensively.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Sunday, June 5th, 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Philips Arena. Atlanta, Georgia
TV: Fox Sports Southeast