Phoenix Mercury at Atlanta Dream
· Women's National Basketball AssociationCharles moves into 2nd on WNBA scoring list while leading Dream past Mercury 72-63
Allisha Gray had 21 points and Rhyne Howard 19 to lead the Dream (10-17), who won their season-best third straight after going into the Olympic break on an eight-game losing streak.
Charles, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft out of UConn, opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer from the top of the key that moved her past Tina Thompson's 7,488 points. Charles' 7,491 points are more than 3,000 behind Diana Taurasi (10,500), who was held to a late 3-pointer in this game.
Charles' basket broke a 48-48 tie and started a 17-2 run that broke the game open. Reserve Maya Caldwell had all six of her points following Charles' 3.
Gray had a jumper and two free throws that made it 65-50 with 5:26 to play. When they beat the Sun on Sunday, the Dream opened the fourth quarter with a 19-2 run.
Kahleah Copper led the Mercury (15-14) with 22 points and Brittney Griner had 14. The Mercury were outrebounded 47-33, including 16-3 on the offensive end.
Atlanta held Phoenix to 2 of 15 shooting with five turnovers in the first quarter to race to a 19-6 lead.
The Dream went cold in the second quarter missing their first 11 shots and back-to-back baskets by Copper gave Phoenix at 25-24 lead. Gray then made a pair of 3s and Howard had another to help the Dream take a 34-26 halftime lead.
Atlanta's streak came against Seattle, Connecticut and the Mercury, all teams with winning records and in playoff position down the stretch. Now Atlanta is a game back of the final playoff spot and plays host to Phoenix again on Friday.
Regular Season Series
PHX wins series 3-1
Recent Plays
4th 0.0 | End of Game | 63 - 72 | |
4th 0.0 | End of the 4th Quarter | 63 - 72 | |
4th 5.0 | Allisha Gray defensive rebound | 63 - 72 | |
4th 9.1 | Kahleah Copper misses 24-foot three point pullup jump shot | 63 - 72 | |
4th 15.0 | Kahleah Copper defensive rebound | 63 - 72 |
Statistics
PHX | ATL | |
---|---|---|
24-61 | FG | 25-73 |
39.3 | Field Goal % | 34.2 |
6-19 | 3PT | 9-31 |
31.6 | Three Point % | 29.0 |
9-10 | FT | 13-16 |
90.0 | Free Throw % | 81.3 |
33 | Rebounds | 47 |
3 | Offensive Rebounds | 16 |
30 | Defensive Rebounds | 31 |
15 | Assists | 17 |
4 | Steals | 3 |
3 | Blocks | 1 |
11 | Turnovers | 8 |
1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
12 | Total Turnovers | 9 |
0 | Technical Fouls | 1 |
0 | Total Technical Fouls | 1 |
0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
14 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 11 |
4 | Fast Break Points | 9 |
30 | Points in Paint | 26 |
16 | Fouls | 15 |
2 | Largest Lead | 15 |
Game Information
Location: College Park, GA
Attendance: 3,260 · Capacity:
2023-24 Eastern Conference Standings
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York | - | 8 | L1 | 0.8 | 32 |
Connecticut | 4 | 12 | W1 | 0.7 | 28 |
Indiana | 12 | 20 | L1 | 0.5 | 20 |
Atlanta | 17 | 25 | W3 | 0.375 | 15 |
Washington | 18 | 26 | W1 | 0.35 | 14 |
Chicago | 19 | 27 | L5 | 0.325 | 13 |
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