In Thursday night's WNBA action, the Atlanta Dream attempted to take down the league's top team, the Minnesota Lynx. However, the Dream fell flat in the fourth quarter with an amazingly low scoring output. WNBA All-Star players Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore scored a combined 40 points on their home court to lead their team to another win as they continue towards the postseason. Here's the latest Dream vs. Lynx game recap including the top performances, as well as an update on the standings and what's next for each of these teams.
WNBA game recap
In tonight's victory, the Minnesota Lynx received 25 points and 13 rebounds from All-Star Sylvia Fowles.
The Lynx center shot 10-for-13 from the floor and also recorded three steals and two blocked shots. Teammate Maya Moore scored 15 points and had five steals along with five rebounds. No other Lynx player finished in double-digits, but it wasn't necessary as they held the Dream to a low shooting percentage in a game that had a near 50 turnovers between the two teams.
The Atlanta Dream had 18 points, five assists and four steals from Layshia Clarendon who shot 9-for-16. Brenda Sykes recorded 12 points while Tiffany Hayes had 10 points and seven rebounds. Sancho Little had just two points but pulled down 11 boards and had five steals.
Minnesota held a 20-18 lead after the first quarter and were up 35-30 at the half.
Atlanta surged in the third quarter outscoring the home team 22-11, but the Dream fell flat in the fourth, scoring just two points while the Lynx put them away by scoring 23.
For the game, Atlanta shot just 31.5 percent overall and 26.7 percent from downtown. The Lynx were able to shoot 41 percent on their home court and had 20 free throw attempts compared to just four by the visitors.
While Atlanta outrebounded Minnesota 39-35, they also turned the ball over 22 times compared to 17 times for the home team.
Standings and what's next
After losing tonight, the Atlanta Dream are now 10-14 overall in the WNBA standings which give the Seattle Storm an opportunity to take over the eighth spot for potential playoff teams.
There are only eight spots available, and they go to the eight teams in the league with the best winning percentages. Next up for the Dream is an away game against the Chicago Sky. That game begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evening.
The Minnesota Lynx are now an impressive 20-2 overall and have already clinched a spot in the WNBA postseason. They return to the court on Saturday night when they'll visit the Indiana Fever for a game at 6 p.m. Eastern Time.