Tiffany Hayes left the game after an apparent ankle injury early in the second quarter and did not return and the Dream lost to the Dallas Wings 81-68 Saturday night in College Park.
Hayes missed the first 19 games of the season due to overseas commitments, then recovered from a knee injury. The 32-year-old guard came into the game averaging a career-high tying 17.2 points in 10 games this season.
Forwards Monique Billings (ankle) and Nia Coffey (knee), as well as guard AD Durr also did not play for Atlanta. The Dream announced Friday that Durr, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft who the team acquired last month via trade with the New York Liberty, would miss the rest of the season in preparation for hip surgery. Durr, a two-time ACC player of the year at Louisville, has played just 43 career WNBA games due to injury and COVID-related issues. The 5-foot-10 guard averaged 10.7 points in 15 games for the Dream this season.
Rhyne Howard led the Dream with 22 points, all in the first three quarters, Saturday night. Aari McDonald scored 13 points and Cheyenne Parker 12.
Kayla Thornton scored a career-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting and Teaira McCowan added 14 points and 14 rebounds for Dallas.
Arike Ogunbowale added 21 points, eight assists and five steals for the Wings.
Dallas (13-16) moved into a tie with the Phoenix Mercury for sixth in the WNBA standings with about two weeks left in the regular season. Atlanta (12-18), among six teams battling for the final three playoff spots, is ninth, a game behind the Los Angeles Sparks (12-16) for the eighth and final postseason berth and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Minnesota Lynx (11-19).
The Wings avoided a season sweep against the Dream, which won the first two games — a 66-59 road victory on May 7, and an 80-75 win at home on June 21.
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