Tina Charles’ late layup lifts Dream previous Storm

Tina Charles hit a game-winning layup with 1.8 seconds left, helping lead the Atlanta Dream to an 83-81 win over the visiting Seattle Storm in College Park, Ga., on Friday.

The game-winner was two of Charles’ 16 points. Rhyne Howard scored a game-high 30 points for the Dream (8-17), who snapped an eight-game losing streak. Allisha Gray added 19 points, while Jordin Canada tallied 10 points.

Skylar Diggins-Smith led Seattle with 29 points, while Jewell Loyd added 21. Ogwumike scored 16 for the Storm, who saw their three-game winning streak snapped.

Facing a 12-point halftime deficit, Atlanta went behind 43-29 after a pair of free throws from Diggins-Smith to begin the second half. From there, Atlanta went on a 12-4 run, punctuated with back-to-back Howard triples that cut the Dream’s deficit to 47-41 with 5:53 left, forcing a Storm timeout.

Trailing 58-50, Naz Hillmon and Gray’s layups trimmed the deficit in half for Atlanta, before Howard’s free throw cut the Seattle lead to 58-55 with 37 seconds left in the third.

Diggins-Smith knocked down a pair of free throws at the 25.1 second mark, giving the Storm a 60-55 lead entering the final quarter.

With 7:26 remaining, Canada converted a three-point play, cutting Atlanta’s deficit to 60-59 before Loyd knocked down a three-pointer on the next possession.

Howard then connected on a pair of free throws, giving Atlanta its first lead since the first quarter. With the score tied at 65, Canada and Hillmon each scored two-pointers before Loyd’s free throws cut Seattle’s deficit to 69-67. Gray then scored on back-to-back possessions, giving the Dream a 73-67 lead with 3:41 remaining.

Diggins-Smith and Charles then traded buckets before Diggins-Smith made back-to-back layups, cutting Atlanta’s lead to 75-73 with 1:47 left.

Still leading by two, Gray knocked down a pair of free throws, giving the Dream a 79-75 lead with 22 seconds left. Loyd then was fouled away from the ball, making her one free throw, before Diggins-Smith’s layup cut the deficit to one.

After Canada made two free throws with 10.1 seconds left, Loyd tied the game with a triple with 4.1 seconds left before Charles’ game-winner.

–Field Level Media