COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Rhyne Howard had 26 points and five steals, Angel Reese added 13 points and 12 rebounds in her first career playoff game, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Washington Mystics 92-77 Sunday night in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Game 2 of the series is Wednesday in Washington.
The No. 5 seed Mystics committed 22 turnovers which Atlanta converted into 27 points. The Dream, who rallied from an 11-point deficit, set the franchise’s playoff record with 16 steals, two shy on the WNBA mark of 18 held by Indiana from 2009.
“I think we were just playing with a lot of nerves,” Dream forward DeWanna Bonner said of Atlanta’s slow start.
“I think the second half, Karl (Smesko, Atlanta’s head coach) settled us down.”
Allisha Gray scored 22 points and Jordin Canada had 10 points and 11 assists for the fourth-seeded Dream.
Howard was 7-of-18 shooting but hit 10 of 10 from the free-throw line and Reese made just 4 of 15 from the field.
Sonia Citron led the Mystics with 25 points. Kiki Iriafen had 15 points and 14 rebounds — nine on the offensive end — and Shakira Austin added 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Canada made a layup that trimmed Atlanta’s deficit to 41-36 at halftime and Gray capped a 7-0 spurt to open the third with a 3-pointer that gave the Dream their first lead since the opening minute. Bonner scored 11 of her 13 points in 18-5 run that made it 61-48 with 2:29 left until the fourth and the Mystics trailed by at least seven the rest of the way.
“In the first half we did a good job of just making everything hard for them and then in that third quarter we just let some of our discipline slip,” Citron said.
Howard made a 3-pointer that opened the scoring 22 seconds into the game but Iriafen scored four points and Georgia Amoore hit from behind the arc as Washington answered with an 8-0 run.
“This is just round one,” Smesko said. “We feel good about how we set the tone for the first game, but there is a lot more work to be done and I think everyone in our locker room is aware of that.”
The Mystics are making their first playoff appearance since 2023 and are looking to win a postseason game for the first time since 2019, when they won the WNBA championship.
“Playoffs are the biggest stage,” Iriafen said. “This is the stage we want to be on.
“It was our first time being here, not that that’s an excuse, but now we know what it looks like. We have a taste for it. We’ll be better prepared for our game on Wednesday.”
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