The Atlanta Dream hosted their final home game of the season against the Connecticut Sun on Divine 9 Night, with members from all nine Black fraternities and sororities filling the stands to celebrate.
Atlanta came out strong in the first quarter, jumping ahead behind Naz Hillmon, who posted 10 points, two assists, and two steals. Marina Mabry knocked down a buzzer-beating jumper to close the quarter at 26-24. The second quarter stayed tight, with both teams scoring 19 points. Rookie Saniya Rivers delivered a buzzer-beater of her own to give the Dream a 45-43 advantage at halftime. Former Dream star Tina Charles led the Sun with 10 points at the break, while Hillmon paced all scorers with 12.
Momentum shifted in the third quarter as Atlanta locked in defensively and controlled the glass. Rhyne Howard poured in 11 points and added four rebounds as the Dream outscored Connecticut 23-9. Atlanta pulled ahead by as many as 16, dominating the boards 14-7 and holding the Sun to just 22 percent shooting in the quarter.
The Dream carried that energy into the final frame, outscoring the Sun 19-10 to close out an 87-62 victory. Howard led Atlanta with 18 points, while Hillmon added 14 points, four assists, and three steals. For the Sun, rookie Saniya Rivers finished with 16 points and Aneesah Morrow grabbed 14 rebounds.
With the win, Atlanta regained second place in the standings heading into the playoffs, holding just a .5 game lead over the third-place Las Vegas Aces, who are riding a 10-game win streak. The regular season wraps up Wednesday, September 10, when the Dream face the Sun again at Mohegan Sun Arena, with playoff seeding on the line.
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