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ATLANTA – The Atlanta Dream have been rolling in the past few games, and they've been able to beat teams in many different ways. What many people have been waiting to see is Rhyne Howard get it going to start the season after being in a shooting slump for the most part. She had a 33-point game against the Seattle Storm two weeks ago, and the hope was that the performance would be the start of her getting into the rhythm.
It took some time, but she was able to have another one of those games against the Chicago Sky, as she finished with 36 points and helped them get the 88-70 victory. What made the game even more special was that she broke the franchise record for most 3-pointers in a game with nine, passing Renee Montgomery.
“I think just seeing the first couple go in gets me going,” Howard said after the game. “Obviously, in the past, I forgot what it’s like to shoot a three, but I always say shooters shoot.”
Howard was quiet in the first half, and went into halftime with eight points, shooting 2-for-8 from the field and 1-for-7 from the three. The Dream trailed the Sky 39-38, and from there, Howard flipped the script and made things happen. In the third quarter, she saw 3 of her 4 shots from deep go in, and had 11 points.
She didn't stop there, and in the fourth quarter, she hit five more threes and had 17 points in the period. It was the type of game that many wanted to see from the star, and she delivered when the team needed her the most.
Rhyne Howard leads Dream to win vs. Sky
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Head coach Karl Smesko has not panicked at all when it comes to Howard, and he's let it be known that he wants her to keep playing her game. He didn't say anything different to her, and he didn't have a special speech either. He just let her do her thing, and she produced one of her best games of the season.
“She’s obviously a special player,” Smesko said. “Her game in Seattle was unbelievable, so she’s capable of having these types of games. It’s just a matter of seeing her opportunities, like when she has space either to shoot it or drive it. I think the more aggressive she gets looking for opportunities, it opens up a lot of things for everybody else.
“They start runnning at her, she uses her shot fake, and then she can get downhill driving. Once they help, she can move it to somebody else or try to finish it and get to the free throw line. I want her aggressively looking for opportunities. Today once she got it going in the fourth, I didn’t have to say anything. She just got the ball, and when she had a little bit of room, she was putting it up, and she was feeling really good about it, and I was feeling really good about it.”
The Dream are 7-3, and the hope is that this is the start for Howard to put together a nice string of games.
