The Atlanta Dream, playing in the first regular season game of the WNBA outside the United States on Friday, will attempt to worsen the situation for the Seattle Storm, who are in a shambles.

This will be the fifth international game the league has played, after preseason exhibitions held in Mexico (2004) and England (2011). Toronto (2023), Edmonton (2024) and Toronto (2023). The Toronto Tempo, the first WNBA franchise outside of the United States, will start play next season.

Atlanta (21-11), which won 85-75 at Seattle, remains in the Pacific Northwest. The Dream's winning streak has now reached six games, and they have now surpassed the New York Liberty in the Eastern Conference standings by half a match.

Rhyne, who was playing her second game after a one-month absence due to a knee injury, led Atlanta with 25 points. She made three 3-pointers during the last 30 seconds of third quarter, which helped Atlanta to pull away.

Howard's return was welcomed by Dream head coach Karl Smesko. Howard's ability to break out at the end the third quarter was huge.

Allisha Gray is Atlanta's top scorer with 19.3 points per game. Howard comes in second place with 16.3 ppg.

Jordin Canady (right hamstring) will be out of the Dream's starting lineup again after he was injured Sunday in a game against the Phoenix Mercury.

Seattle (16-17) is 0-6 this August. This is the longest losing streak for Seattle since 2023, when it lost 10 games in a single row. Before Wednesday's 10 point loss, each of Seattle's previous five losses was decided by four or fewer points.

Noelle Quinn, Seattle's head coach, said: "These moments deflate us. We can't recover them." As a coach, I'm all about empowerment, providing confidence, and having a "next-play" mentality. But individual players must find this within themselves and give it to their teammates. My team is aware that time is running out.

Nneka OGWUMIKE has been in a terrible stretch of form. She's scored double figures in 16 consecutive games, including 29 points on Wednesday. Ogwumike averages 18.2 points per game and 7.3 rebounds for the Storm. They are at risk of missing the playoffs for only the seventh time in the past 26 seasons.

Field Level Media

(source: Reuters)