The Dream didn't have a pleasant homecoming.

Just ask Ivory Latta.

The cap on her right front tooth was knocked out midway in the fourth quarter of Atlanta's 79-66 loss to Sacramento on Tuesday. It was the second time the Dream lost to the Monarchs in five days. The Dream are 3-22, the worst record in the WNBA.

Latta, who said she was going to the dentist after the game, was forced to call a timeout after she said Scholanda Robinson hit her with an elbow.

The Dream huddled and Kasha Terry stood in the middle, voicing her frustration, as coach Marynell Meadors spoke to the referee.

"The coaches warned us before the game that it was going to be physical," Latta said. "We had to match the intensity and I thought we did it at times, and at times we didn't."

The Dream struggled yet again in the first quarter. They turned over the ball seven times within the first nine minutes, and fell behind 22-13.

"We have to do a better job to getting off to a start. I mean our start was horrible," Meadors said. "There will be some changes made for Friday night's game. I don't know what yet or who yet, but there will be changes."

Iziane Castro-Marques shared in the aggravation. She was hit with a technical in the fourth quarter after she fouled Kara Lawson and swatted the ball into the stands.

"We had the slow start, and then we have to hustle back to get back into the game," Castro-Marques said. "We make our lives harder. So that's frustrating sometimes."

Latta said she feels that as a leader, she needs to take on the responsibility of making sure everyone is pumped for the game.

"I think we need to rally, we need to be more energetic at the beginning of the game," she said. "If we go out there like 'Huh?,' and be all about defense and getting those rebounds, we'll get those fast break points and easy points."

The Dream hung around in the first half thanks mostly to their tall twosome of Katie Feenstra and Allison Bales, who rejected five shots in three minutes.

Bales finished with a career-high five blocks, and Feenstra tied a career-high with four as Atlanta blocked 12 shots.

Atlanta shot 34.8 percent from the floor and 3-for-19 from behind the 3-point line. They committed 19 turnovers.