Field Level Media
11 Jun 2021, 05:25 GMT+10
The Seattle Storm aim to complete a two-game road sweep of Atlanta when they face the Dream for the second time in three nights on Friday.
Seattle (8-2) posted a 95-71 victory on Wednesday, thanks to a stellar second half in which it outscored Atlanta 50-28.
Now the task is delivering another solid victory in the rematch with the Dream (4-5).
"I guess you have to get better at improving on what needs to be improved on because they're doing the same," Storm forward Stephanie Talbot said after Wednesday's win. "They're going to train and then figuring out what they need to do, and we need to do the same and just figure out new ways to score and get better."
Six Seattle players scored in double figures, topped by 18 points from guard Jewell Loyd.
Forward Breanna Stewart recorded 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Talbot scored 13 points. The others in double digits were point guard Sue Bird and center Mercedes Russell with 11 apiece, and forward Katie Lou Samuelson with 10.
Loyd, who averages 20.4 points, was happy to see the balanced scoring.
"We want to make sure we're playing our basketball, so it's super important that people will understand their roles, their jobs and their value enough to where anyone can chip in," Loyd said. "We want to see that more. I'm sure the competence of everyone on this team is very high right now."
Atlanta is attempting to end a three-game slide. Their last two setbacks each came by 20 or more points.
Forward Tiffany Hayes scored 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting on Wednesday to top the 20-point mark for the fifth time in the past six games. Nobody else reached double digits as the rest of the Dream were 20 of 67 (29.9 percent) from the field.
Rookie guard Aari McDonald had just seven points on 1-of-5 shooting after scoring 15 points in each of the previous two games.
McDonald is averaging 7.4 points but shooting just 32.7 percent from the field. However, guard Courtney Williams is impressed with the No. 3 overall pick out of Arizona.
"Aari works hard. She knows what business she has to handle because she gets it done," Williams recently told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
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