Dream beat the Sun 88-72 to move into second place in the WNBA standings

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Brittney Griner scored 17 points off the bench, Rhyne Howard added 15 and the Atlanta Dream beat the Connecticut Sun 88-72 on Wednesday night to move into second place in the WNBA standings.

Atlanta became just the sixth team in league history to reach 30 wins during the regular season. The Dream can secure the No. 2 seed in the playoffs if Las Vegas loses to Los Angeles on Thursday.

Brionna Jones and Allisha Gray each added 13 points, and Nia Coffey scored 10 for Atlanta. Howard went 3 of 7 from distance to become the ninth player in WNBA history to make 100 or more 3-pointers in a season.

Marina Mabrey scored 22 points and Aneesah Morrow had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Connecticut . Saniya Rivers set a Sun rookie record with 43 3-pointers this season. Tina Charles scored nine to eclipse 700 points this season, the first time in her 14-year WNBA career she’s hit the mark.

Atlanta took control in the first quarter after closing on a 17-2 run to build a 31-13 lead. The Dream shot 64.7% from the field in the quarter, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, while Connecticut was 5 of 15 overall.

Coffey made a corner 3-pointer with 10.5 seconds left in the second quarter to give Atlanta a 51-28 halftime lead.

The Sun, who trailed by 24, got within 63-54 late in the third quarter after a 16-4 run. But the Dream closed the frame by scoring six of the final eight points for a 71-58 lead.

WNBA: /hub/wnba-basketball

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