ATLANTA — A new attendance record has been set for a WNBA game played in Georgia.
The Atlanta Dream hosted the Indiana Fever at State Farm Arena with 17,608 in attendance to set the record. The last game between the Dream and Fever drew 17,575 for the previous record.
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Channel 2′s Bryan Mims spoke with women’s basketball fans before tipoff on Monday. The fans expressed their excitement to see not only the young talent, like Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, but also the All-Star talent for the Dream.
“I’m here for both,” Betsy Ballard said. “I live in Atlanta, but I also love to watch Caitlin Clark and all her teammates. I’m here to see both the teams, Allisha Gray, all of them. It’s just amazing.”
The Dream fell behind 52-38 at halftime, but rallied in the second half behind Tina Charles and Rhyne Howard.
Atlanta pulled within three with a minute left. The Dream grabbed a few offensive rebounds, but they couldn’t get the shots to drop. Kelsey Mitchell, who led the Fever with 29 points, sealed the 84-79 win at the free throw line with five seconds left. Clark finished with 19 points.
Charles led the Dream with 28 points and Howard added 16 points.
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The crowd wasn’t just treated to a nail biter, but there was also basketball royalty in the house. The franchise honored members of the USA Women’s Basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The team is credited with popularizing WNBA.
Atlanta hip-hop icons Goodie Mob performed at halftime.
The Dream hit the west coast for the next week with games against the Seattle Storm, Las Vegas Aces, Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury. Atlanta returns home on Sept. 6 against the Dallas Wings at Gateway Center Arena in College Park.
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