Rhyne Howard dropped a career-high 43 points and her Atlanta Dream hit a franchise high in points as a team in their 112-84 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks Sunday afternoon at Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta.
Swish Appeal’s Cat Ariail had just gotten done writing the following about the Dream’s June:
At their best, they showed themselves to be a surefire playoff team that could give a top-four seed a test in the first round due to their toughness, tenacity and shotmaking. At their worst, they look like a lottery-bound mess, gifting opponents easy transition points because of a torrent of live-ball turnovers.
It was quite the start to July for the team from Atlanta, which is now 7-8 and in seventh place. Beating a team that has looked as good as the Sparks have at times by 28 is impressive. However, LA did fall out of the playoff picture to a ninth-place 7-10.
Howard was 14-of-20 from the field, 6-of-12 from beyond the arc and 9-of-9 at the charity stripe. Just two games ago, she scored just eight points. Her previous season high was 24, accomplished on June 23. Her previous career high was 33, set on May 15, 2022. Sunday’s performance raised her season scoring average from 16.4 to 18.2. It moved her ahead of Allisha Gray as the Dream’s leading scorer.
It seems…
