COLLEGE PARK, GA – One win. That's all the Atlanta Dream needed to clinch a spot in the 2025 playoffs, and they were able to get in after defeating the Dallas Wings 100-78. It was the first time the Dream scored 100 points this season, and after a slow start in the first quarter, the ball started to go in the rim, and the defense turned up a notch for the remaining three quarters.

With the Wings down several players and only having eight available to play, the Dream took advantage and cruised to a victory. Though the Dream have officially clinched, they know the job is far from over.

“We had bigger goals than the playoffs from the beginning, but you can’t reach those goals unless you make the playoffs,” head coach Karl Smesko said after the game. “So it’s a step in the right direction. Obviously, we’d like to be in the best position at the end of the regular season in terms of hosting as much as we can. And there’s a whole bunch of teams super tight. So this was an important game for us, and I’m glad we were able to have the fourth quarter we did.”

“We have to finish out. We’ve clinched, but that doesn’t mean our spot can’t change,” Rhyne Howard said. “We didn’t clinch a spot; we clinched a place in the playoffs, and we have to take care of business, finish it out, make sure that we’re trying to have the best outcome possible and make sure we’re doing everything we’re supposed to be doing.”

The standings are tight, and if the Dream want to have homecourt advantage in the first round, they're going to have to keep winning to the end of the season.

Dream clinch playoff spot after historic Rhyne Howard game

The player of the game for the Dream was Howard, who made an impact on both sides of the ball, finishing with 24 points, six made three-pointers, and six emphatic blocks. Howard hadn't been shooting the ball well over the past few games, but she came out against the Wings and made every shot (and block) count.

“I don’t know if I was extra locked in, but I was due for a good game,” Howard said. “My teammates found me for open shots, and I was able to knock them down. As far as the blocks, that’s just making the right plays on defense and going to get it.”

Howard became the first player in WNBA history to record six-plus blocks and six-plus 3-pointers made.

“Whenever you do something that’s the first time in WNBA history, that's pretty special,” Smesko said. “So she had just an outstanding game, and it was great to see.”

The Dream played a good game, and though the players felt like they did a good job, it still probably wouldn't be enough to keep Smesko satisfied.

“He’d say that we can do better,” Te-Hina Paopao said. “We showed that we can fight, and we do really well on the defensive end, we just have to do that consistently.”

“I thought defensively, we made a lot of mistakes, really too many mistakes, and kind of uncharacteristic of how we've played defense since the All-Star break. So Pao was absolutely right,” Smesko said.

Luckily, the Dream were able to figure things out late in the second half going into the second half, and the 29-11 fourth quarter was what put the icing on the cake. That should show that the job is not done for the Dream, and they want to be playing their best basketball of the season at the right time.

“We're gonna have to be really deliberate on two or three areas that we think we'll have the most impact in the postseason, and see how much we can improve in those areas before the postseason starts,” Smesko said. “When the standings are this tight and you're going for home court advantage, it means every game is crucial.”