The Dream have had plenty of competitive matchups in the infancy of the season. But despite playing on the second day of back-to-back games, the Dream (3-2) put up a dominant performance against the Sun with a 79-55 win on Sunday afternoon at the Gateway Center Arena at College Park.
“I thought it was a really good second half to play defense at that level and that intensity with as many minutes as our players have been having, I was just really impressed (with) what we were able to do,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said after the game. “We made it very tough on them to get good shots. Hopefully we can continue with that.”
Back-to-backs can often lead to the feeling of heavy legs but Dream guard Allisha Gray picked up where she left off on Saturday afternoon. The 30-year-old guard honed in on the basket and she would not let anyone slow her down.
Gray drew a pair of and-ones off of Sun guard Jacy Sheldon as a part of a 12-2 Dream run that got them their first lead with just over five minutes to play in the first quarter.
Gray hit the gas at halfcourt and once she saw Sheldon in front of her, she put her head down and put up a jumper. Sheldon fell to the floor, but Gray drew the foul and completed the play. Gray attacked Sheldon again off a screen from Brionna Jones before she drove to the elbow. Gray then spun left before pulling up to hit a tear drop and drawing the foul.
“I’m just playing my game,” Gray said. “I just know coming out the gate, being aggressive allows me to get into the flow of my game. I try not to settle too early for jump shot. So when I’m aggressive, I get in the flow.”
The former South Carolina Gamecock scored 13 of her 18 points in the first half and the Dream needed every bit of it.
“Well, Lish, is coming off a great game yesterday, and then today, she got off to the great start,” Smesko said. “And really, kind of held it for us until everybody else could start to get it going. She just loves to play ball, and so every game day, she’s super excited and high energy and she’s just had a tremendous start to the season.”
The Dream did not have 10-time All-Star Brittney Griner, after making a game-time decision to scratch her from the afternoon’s matchup after the team played four games in six days. They have a West Coast matchup against the Sparks on Tuesday, stretching their schedule to five games in eight days.
The team has already taken hits to their depth at guard with starter Jordin Canada still sidelined with a knee injury. Rookie Te-Hina Paopao missed Sunday’s action after sustaining a facial injury early in the game against the Wings on Saturday.
But even without three key rotational players, the Dream put up one of their more dominant quarters, so far this season. They finished the first half with a four-point lead, before extending it to a 15-point lead by the end of the third.
Nia Coffey and Maya Caldwell, who both started in the absences of Paopao and Griner.
Coffey, who left the game three minutes into the afternoon with a facial injury, didn’t seem phased by it. She had her pulse on every facet accounting for nearly 68% of the Dream’s scoring in the third quarter.
“The thing is, (Nia) has been really good with all of her minutes so far,” Smesko said. “I said we were gonna play her more today, and then things worked out where I got to keep my word this time.”
It started 90 seconds into the second half, where she knocked down a 3 from the left wing she made a driving layup from the elbow on the next possession. Forty seconds later, she put her head down again, earning a trip to the line and splitting a pair of free throws.
But Coffey, who had 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, also found both Caldwell and Gray for a pair of 3s that held off the Sun’s attempt to get back in the action.
“You know, we’re down,” Coffey said. “So I was like, ‘Always an option.’ So I was like, ‘Put it back together. I’m gonna do my best out there.’
“But we have such a great team. We have talent, but we’re just really great people, like I am. And I’m pretty sure I can say this for everyone, we’re going to do what we need for each other. So it’s really easy coming out there and just playing with this team.”
Caldwell, who handled much of the Dream’s ballhandling, provided a huge spark in the second half. With 6:18 to play in the third quarter, Caldwell tied up Suns wing Marina Mabrey in a jump ball, refusing to let go, before wrestling Mabrey to the ground. After officials blew the whistle, Caldwell walked away smirking, before returning to the wing for the jump ball.
She then tipped it to Coffey, winning the Dream an extra possession and sending them out in transition. Coffey then found a trailing Caldwell, who then knocked down the 3.
“I felt like I was already at a disadvantage because of the height,” Caldwell said after the game. “That was clear. But I was like, You know what, I’m good, I’m gonna go for it. So I did. And Nia made it easy for me.”
Caldwell finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
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