Dream lose fifth straight as Valkyries complete season sweep of Atlanta

The Atlanta Dream's road trip nightmare followed them home.

Golden State came to Gateway Center Arena on Saturday and handed Atlanta an 88-83 defeat, sweeping the season series 3-0 and extending the Dream's losing streak to five games. The Dream, who entered the road trip as the No. 1 offense in the WNBA, are now averaging just 78 points per game during the skid while shooting 38.3% from the field and a troubling 25.8% from three.

The numbers tell a sobering story for a team that looked unstoppable just weeks ago.

Atlanta shot just 39% from the field Saturday and 31% from three, and perhaps most damaging, connected on only 70% of their free throws — going 23-of-33 from the line in a game they lost by five. Over the five-game losing streak, the Dream are shooting just 73% from the free throw line, a significant drop from a team that had been one of the league's most efficient squads earlier in the season.

"No excuse, absolutely no excuse," Angel Reese said after the game. "We just have to be better. If it's shooting 100 free throws after practice, 50 free throws at practice, that's what it is. But we haven't shot great from the free throw line or from the field, so we just have to get back to the drawing board and figure out what works."

Allisha Gray led Atlanta with 22 points but needed 17 shots to get there, going 5-of-17 from the field and 1-of-5 from three. She did draw 16 free throws, making 11. Rhyne Howard added 19 points on 4-of-11 shooting from three, and Reese finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Jordin Canada struggled offensively with just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting while committing four turnovers, though she did dish out eight assists.

Madina Okot provided the brightest spot off the bench, scoring 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting in 10 minutes, but Atlanta's bench was outscored 32-18 by Golden State's reserves.

For Golden State, Veronica Burton was the difference-maker, finishing with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting while adding four assists. Gabby Williams chipped in 19 on 4-of-8 shooting from three, and Kaila Charles contributed seven points, eight rebounds and five assists off the bench in a reserve performance that helped swing the game's momentum.

The Dream were outrebounded 30-37 and committed 17 turnovers, surrendering 20 points off those miscues. Golden State converted 13-of-34 three-point attempts. The Valkyries got hot from deep at exactly the wrong moments for Atlanta.

Head coach Karl Smesko acknowledged the frustration but said the issue isn't scheme, it's execution.

"I don't think it's anything drastic," Smesko said. "It's just a play here, a play there. We're not getting the return that we would normally get for the quality of shots we're getting. I think as soon as we get off to a good start and hit a few threes right away, I think most of these struggles are going to be over."

Reese pointed to the Dream's inability to create easier looks for their guards as a factor that needs correcting going into the stretch run before the All-Star break.

"We didn't make our simple and easy shots," she said. "We could have done a better job setting screens and getting our guards open for easier shots, more wide-open shots. Me and the post are going to look at film together and figure out how we can get our guards some more open shots and figure out how we can make their jobs easier."

The closing minutes were particularly painful. Atlanta led by three late in the fourth quarter before Williams converted a three-point play to tie it, and Golden State then got out in transition to take control.

"They were able to get out in transition and had us in scrambles," Smesko said. "They have really good spacing and they share the ball really well. Once you get in scrambles, you're just hoping they miss at that point."

Despite five straight losses, the locker room message has remained consistent: don't panic.

"Any team in front of us should be scared, because we're ready," Reese said. "Adversity builds character. We're having tough conversations, taking accountability, and figuring it out. We're not down; this team is used to winning."

Gray stressed that the Dream's issues are fixable.

"Losing five games in a row, it sucks, but the morale in the locker room is great," she said. "We're all sticking together. We just got to get over this hump. We have five games before the All-Star break, so it's time for us to really lock in and come out with wins."