Allisha Gray has been a big reason why the Atlanta Dream have been moving up in the standings after a successful road trip.
The Dream (5-5) swept games in New York, Connecticut and Indiana to move to .500. Gray averaged 22.7 points and six rebounds in the three wins. Atlanta closes out the road trip against Dallas on Tuesday night.
“She’s somebody who just basically puts on her hard hat and goes to work and just does what she does,” Dream coach Tanisha Wright said after the Dream's 100-94 win at Indiana on Sunday. “She did that all throughout training camp. There were times I was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t noticeable.’ But when you go back and you watch the tape, you see all the little plays ‘Leesh’ was making.”
Gray, who earned the AP Player of the Week honors for her efforts, is averaging 18.7 points this season and has scored in double figures in every game. It's five points more a game then her previous career-best.
With their three victories, the Dream moved up to fifth in the AP WNBA power poll. Atlanta has made its move with point guards Danielle Robinson (knee) and Aari McDonald (torn labrum) sidelined with injuries. Rookie Haley Jones has filled in well averaging 9.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5 assists during the winning streak.
“Haley has done a really good job of stepping in and bringing what she brings to the table from that position. We're happy to see her growth. At the beginning she was playing nervous and timid, but she's gotten better. That's definitely a positive," Wright said in New York. "She'll only get better gaining the experience playing against this caliber of teams.”
Jones took time out on the road tip to go back to Stanford and take part in graduation ceremonies on Saturday.
AP WNBA Poll
Las Vegas remained the atop the AP WNBA Poll for the sixth straight week. Connecticut and New York followed the Aces despite the losses to Atlanta. Washington and Atlanta were next. Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago followed the Dream, Indiana, Seattle, Minnesota and Phoenix round out the poll
GRINER WATCH
Griner has been recovering from a hip injury she suffered last week against Seattle. The All-Star center missed games in Washington and New York after being ruled out about 20 minutes before each game. She participated in warmups and coach Vanessa Nygaard said that she was day-to-day. The Mercury have a home game against Las Vegas on Wednesday before traveling to Seattle to play the Storm on Saturday.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Indiana at Las Vegas, Saturday. The first of consecutive games between these two teams. They also play again on Monday. The Aces won the first meeting between the teams 84-80 in Indiana on June 4. It's a matchup of former South Carolina greats A'ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston.
