Parker scores 21, Howard adds 16 as Dream beat Storm 90-76
ATLANTA (AP) — Cheyenne Parker had 21 points and nine rebounds, Rhyne Howard scored 16 points and the Atlanta Dream never trailed Sunday in their 90-76 win over the Seattle Storm.
Aari McDonald and AD Durr added 13 points apiece for Atlanta (10-11) and Tiffany Hayes scored 10 points. Durr made 4 of 5 from the field and 3 of 3 from 3-point range.
Hayes made a layup to cap an 8-0 spurt that gave the Dream an 18-8 lead midway through the first quarter and McDonald and Hayes scored back-to-back driving layups to give Atlanta a 15-point lead with 5:35 left in the second, but the Storm scored 19 of the next 26 points to trim their deficit to 48-44 when Jewell Loyd hit a 3-pointer about 2 minutes into the third quarter. Seattle went scoreless for 3-plus minutes and the Dream scored 16 points in the final 4 minutes of the period to lead 72-54 going into the fourth.
Breanna Stewart, the only Storm player to score in double figures, finished with 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Tina Charles, who signed with the team on June 28, made 1 of 6 from the field and finished with two points, two rebounds and two turnovers.
The 2012 WNBA MVP, and the league’s leading scorer (23.4 per game) last season, has 15 points on 7-of-21 shooting in three games with Seattle since Charles and the Phoenix Mercury mutually agreed to part ways after just 18 games together.
The Dream outrebounded Seattle (13-8) 44-30 — including a 9-2 advantage on the offensive glass.
___
More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports