Below the roof of Atlanta’s State Farm Enviornment, Brittney Griner performed her first at-home sport with the Atlanta Dream. Alongside along with her teammates, Brionna Jones, Te-Hina Paopao, Taylor Thierry, and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.
Coming off a successful sport in Indiana towards the Fever, Griner was greeted with welcoming cheers, just like the GOAT she is. The previous Phoenix Mercury star, affectionately referred to as BG, appeared “rejuvenated” throughout a pregame shootaround and postgame along with her son, Bash. This aligns with how she feels about Atlanta.
“I positively have a brand new vitality being right here in Atlanta. I really feel like I’m at dwelling,” Griner informed the New York Occasions.
BG took to the paint with the sector’s newly-decorated courtroom emboldened with new messaging: “Pay Some Respect To Girls’s Sports activities.” The Atlanta Dream partnered with CashApp and Playa Society to drop this marketing campaign, which is able to put individuals within the correct perspective about girls’s work within the sports activities trade if there’s nonetheless any doubt.
For the reason that WNBA season started Might 16, the Atlanta Dream group has been placing in that work, beating out Catlin Clark and the Indiana Fever 91-90 on Might 20 in an away sport.
The Dream’s Brionna Jones showcased her all-around impression in her current two-game stretch towards the rival group. Within the first victory, she recorded 19 factors, 13 rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block, taking pictures 6-of-12 from the sector. Whereas the Dream fell 81-76 on Might 22, Jones managed 15 factors and 11 rebounds, together with three assists and a steal, doing so with zero turnovers within the sport, and including two three-pointers. Jones spoke on the group’s efficiency postgame:
“We’ve gone by means of the primary three video games [and] we’re getting a bit bit extra snug,” Jones mentioned. “I believe there’s nonetheless room to develop … taking part in off one another, the best way the offense flows. We actually should know one another and know the place we would like our spots and what one another desires.”
Atlanta rookie Te-Hina Paopao, who her teammates praised as an amazing asset, offered an offensive spark with 11 factors. Her perimeter taking pictures was notably efficient, as she drained 3-of-6 makes an attempt from past the arc. Past scoring, Paopao additionally dished out three assists and grabbed two rebounds for her group. She completed the night time with two turnovers.
Brittney Griner had a comparatively quiet night time offensively, scoring 5 factors on 2-of-6 taking pictures, however was energetic on the boards with seven rebounds and one block. Turnovers had been a difficulty for her, committing three in 24 minutes of sport time.
However, Rhyne Howard delivered a notable offensive effort, main the Dream with 24 factors on 8-of-17 taking pictures from the sector, together with 3-of-7 from past the arc. In 37 minutes of motion, she stuffed the stat sheet with 5 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block, changing 5 of her six free-throw makes an attempt. Regardless of her all-around manufacturing, the Dream nonetheless suffered an 81-76 defeat to the Indiana Fever.
Publish sport, Howard shared Jones’ sentiment on the Dream’s efficiency when requested what she may need realized within the first few video games of the season, being a brand new group:
“I’ve had completely different put up gamers, we now have completely different playing cards, and so the most effective factor about it’s that we’re studying the brand new system collectively …” Howard mentioned. “We’re all on the identical web page on the finish of the day.”
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