WNBA Atlanta Dream

Postgame Notes: Atlanta 67, Chicago 92

Published on August 16, 2020 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Atlanta Dream News Release


Atlanta Notes

- Atlanta's record against Chicago moves to 18-30 all-time.

- The Dream started Betnijah Laney, Monique Billings, Elizabeth Williams, Courtney Williams and Blake Dietrick for the first time this season.

- Blake Dietrick recorded a career-high 3 steals, passing her previous high of 2 from 2018.

- Monique Billings scored in double digits for the third time this season with 12 points today. She has led the team in total rebounds seven times this season with her 8 today.

o Her 7.8 rebounds per game ranks 7th in the league following today's game.

- Courtney Williams recorded her fifth double-figure scoring outing of the season with her 15 points today.

o She tied her season-high record of 4 assists for the fourth time.

o She pulled down 6 total rebounds, bringing her average per game up to 7.0, which ranks 13th league-wide. Her 2.6 offensive boards per game ranks 4th in the WNBA this season after she grabbed 3 against Chicago.

- Glory Johnson set new season-high records with 7 points and 3 offensive rebounds in 21 minutes on the court. She tied her season records with 3 made free throws and 4 attempted.

- With her one block today, Elizabeth Williams needs only 10 more to both set the Atlanta record with 281 blocks in a Dream uniform, and reach 300 in her career.

Atlanta Quotes

Head Coach Nicki Collen

On how important it is for Courtney Williams to step up every game...

"I mean. I think she started two-for-10. I mean we need her. We absolutely need her offensively to make shots. She certainly had 15 points, but on a high volume of shots, and I want her to take a high volume of shots. She can get them. She can create shots. She made a lot of good decisions, even in the passing game, but she's just got to shoot a better percentage. She was getting a lot of clean looks, but for us to be competitive, night in and night out, we're playing through her. We're playing to her, and we're playing through her. She's incredibly important to us."

On if Monique Billings played up to what she expected her to after her last couple games...

"I still think we're going to have to live with some missed layups by Mo [Monique Billings]. I mean she plays so hard and so fast sometimes she doesn't slow down and gather at the end, but I thought her energy was really good. I just thought this was a game, because of their lineup, that there wasn't an easy, as well as [Kahleah] Copper has been playing for them, I thought it was a tough matchup for [Shekinna] Stricklen. So, I kind of started the way I did to really match up with them to some degree. I thought this was a team that would be a little tougher for Stricklen to be at the four as well. I didn't play her at all at the four tonight. Chicago played double big a lot of the time, except when they had Gabby [Williams] at the four. I mean I thought she was better the other night. I thought Mo was better. That was my take away from the last games. I thought Mo flew around and tried real hard and got her hands on a lot of balls. There's gonna come a point where Mo brings in more offensive rebounds. Right now she's getting a hand on a lot of them and doesn't get as many as I think she's gonna end up with, but she's consistently putting pressure on the defense by going to the offensive boards."

Center Elizabeth Williams (#1)

On if the signs of fatigue showed up in their energy level today, being that this is 4th game in seven days...

"It's actually been the 10th game in 19 days. I don't know. I think it was more mental mistakes than anything. I mean, most teams are in the same boat this week or the past two weeks, so I think it's the team that ends up making the right decisions consistently that ends up winning these games."

On how important it is for the team collectively to get more rebounds on both sides of the ball...

"Rebounds are always important. We want more shots on goal. Obviously, that gives you more chances to score points. When we do, do a good job defensively, it's important to not give teams a second shot. I think that's kind of been a theme throughout the season, where we get the initial stop but don't get the rebound, and then they score off the offensive rebound and that really hurts us. I think rebounding is something that we've talked about but something we definitely need to improve on."

Forward Glory Johnson (#0)

On having a day off tomorrow before their next game on Wednesday...

"It feels great. We definitely need it. It's not like any other season. It's going to take a toll on our bodies. If we don't have the few off days that we do have, it leads to injuries. I think any recovery day is good for us and good for a team like us. We've got a couple older players on the team, so this is definitely a good thing to have an off day tomorrow."

On how she is feeling now and how close she is to being back to the level she was at before ...

"I feel pretty good as far as being out of shape. I think I'm breathing fine. There's a couple of times where you'll see me pull myself in the game, but it's most of the time when the possessions are going [back and forth]. Getting used to going like this, because I haven't done that in a while. But just being comfortable playing in the higher minutes and also learning my team. I think it's learning my team, because I missed the training camp aspect of this season. Once I get to know my team a little bit more, get comfortable with my team, know what my teammates like to do, and how I can fit in with our team, I think things will flow way better. Until then I'll play defense and rebound."

Atlanta Dream (2-9) at Chicago Sky (7-4)

August 16, 2020

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final Points Rebounds Assists

Chicago 21 25 23 23 92 Parker - 17 Parker/Dolson - 6 Colson - 6

Atlanta 14 23 16 14 67 C. Williams - 15 Billings - 8 Laney/C. Williams - 4

Game highlights: https://youtu.be/7b3utUIooD4

Postgame recap: https://dreamatl.net/347PMXg

Check out the Atlanta Dream Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 16, 2020


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central