Allisha Gray is on the move to the Atlanta Dream.

The 2017 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Gray averaged 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Dallas Wings in 2022. The Wings are sending Gray to the Dream in exchange for the No. 3 overall pick this year and a 2025 first-round pick. The trade was first reported by ESPN’s M.A. Voepel on Wednesday night.

The 28-year-old guard was selected by Dallas with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 draft. She averaged 13.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a rookie.

While she saw a dip in production in her sophomore season, her stats have remained relatively consistent through her six seasons in Dallas. For her career, she has averaged 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists across 180 games. She also won an Olympic gold medal in 2021 as part of Team USA’s 3×3 basketball team.

She will join a Dream squad that went 14-22 last season under first-year coach Tanisha Wright. But she could find more stability in Atlanta than she had in Dallas. Wright is signed through 2027, and the team has a franchise player in 2022 top draft pick and Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard.

The Wings enter 2023 with yet another new coach.

Los Angeles Sparks assistant Latricia Trammell took the helm from Vickie Johnson, who held the position for two seasons. The team opted not to exercise the option on Johnson’s contract after she led the Wings to back-to-back playoff appearances — but also back-to-back first-round exits.

In Gray’s six seasons in Dallas, she worked with four different head coaches — not including Trammel.

After an intense battle between five teams, the Mercury and the Liberty secured the last two playoff spots. The Dream, the Lynx and the Sparks just missed the cut, while the Fever have been out of contention for most of the season.

As the rest of the league entertains scenarios of championship bliss, the offseason is already underway for those four organizations. Here’s what each squad needs to do in the coming months to get into contention next season.

Atlanta Dream

Atlanta was one win away from sneaking into the playoffs, but back-to-back losses to the Liberty ensured New York surpassed the Dream as the final team in the postseason. First-year head coach Tanisha Wright took the Dream from winning 25 percent of their games in 2021 to 39.9 percent this season. That’s the team’s best win percentage since they made it to the semifinals in 2018.

Rookie of the Year frontrunner Rhyne Howard averaged 16.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals a game to lead Atlanta back into the playoff chase. But the Dream have some major offensive shortcomings that need to be addressed in the offseason, starting on the inside. The Dream are fourth in the country from beyond the 3-point line, but once they step inside the arc, things go downhill. As a team, they are 11th in the league in 2-point field goal percentage (45.2) and 10th in free-throw percentage (77.7). And on the other side of the ball, the Dream allow their opponents to score 49.9 percent of their points from 2-point range.

Atlanta needs to set out and sign an experienced big or draft a WNBA-ready post. Players like Nneka Ogwumike, Emma Meesseman and Dearica Hamby will be free agents this offseason, and depending on how things shake out in the 2023 draft lottery, the Dream could be in a position to select South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston or Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee, though the latter may take more development. A better inside presence can easily lead to a couple of more wins and, in turn, a playoff spot.

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Moriah Jefferson will be one of Minnesota's four unrestricted free agents this offseason. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

Minnesota Lynx

I’m not ready to think about the WNBA without Sylvia Fowles, but the Lynx need to. Cheryl Reeve was right when she said there will never be another player like her, so replacing the WNBA’s leading rebounder isn’t going to happen.

Instead, Minnesota needs to figure out its new identity. Will they be a more guard-oriented team? Will they look for another traditional post, or seek out someone who can stretch the defense and shoot 3s? How will they fill the hole on defense? What about on the glass? There are plenty of questions, and they won’t all be answered right away.

A good start for Minnesota would be to sign a couple of non-traditional bigs who can serve two purposes. The first is to keep up the team’s rebounding prowess — they were the second best squad on the glass this season. The second is to create offense by stretching the floor. Without Fowles to displace defenders and take attention away from driving guards, the Lynx need to clear lanes in other ways. A post who can stretch the defense and shoot 3-pointers is a great way to do that. Plus, Minnesota could use a lift from beyond the arc after finishing the season with just 24.9 percent of the team’s points coming from 3-point range.

Overall, the Lynx will want to play through two-time All-Star Napheesa Collier, who returned to the court for her team’s last four games just 74 days after giving birth to her daughter. Collier averaged 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks during the 2021 season.

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Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike may be searching for a new destination this winter. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

Los Angeles Sparks

Despite finding a way to stay in playoff contention, the Sparks were a mess this year. Derek Fisher was fired early in the season, but his decisions continue to haunt L.A. From the contract divorce with Liz Cambage to his insistence on signing Chennedy Carter despite reported pushback from the organization, Fisher left the Sparks in bad shape. Because of that, it’s time for a total rebuild.

Seven players are going to be free agents, and it makes sense for L.A. to unload most of them and start fresh. Holding onto someone like Nneka Ogwumike, despite her obvious talent, isn’t beneficial when the team needs to rework most of its roster. Her $193,409 salary is better used on young talent the organization can develop and build around. The Sparks need to worry about the future, not the now. That means turning to the draft and targeting a versatile centerpiece like Haley Jones or, looking further ahead, a game-changing playmaker like Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers in 2024.

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The Fever are building toward the future with their five 2022 top draft picks. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

Indiana Fever

On paper, things look bad for the last-place Fever, who parted ways with coach Marianne Stanley earlier this season after she amassed a 14-49 record over three years and missed out on the playoffs for a league-leading sixth straight year. But in reality, the organization is doing all the right things and there is plenty to be excited about.

The Fever are overflowing with young talent after drafting college stars NaLyssa Smith, Emily Engstler, Lexie Hull, Queen Egbo and Destanni Henderson. Smith is certainly a player to build around, and after Rhyne Howard, she was easily the best-performing rookie in the league, averaging 13.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest. For the Fever, it’s all about staying the course. There likely isn’t a quick pick-up or one draft pick who can take them from last place to the top of the league, but the pieces are coming together.

If Indiana develops the players it has and continues to put a focus on drafting top players over the next few years, then the organization has a good chance of breaking into the top half of the league. For now, they just need to be patient.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

CHICAGO — When Rhyne Howard was in middle school, she won her junior high cross country championships. It’s a fact that her mom, Rhvonja “RJ” Avery, loves to tell anyone who will listen.

It makes Howard cringe, albeit lovingly, with a combination of embarrassment and annoyance that only a mom can evoke. So, Avery keeps it up. It’s fun to get a bit of a rise out of her low-key daughter, but Avery also tells people about the victory because it’s a good way to explain Howard.

You see, she didn’t like cross country. But she still pushed herself to be the best because Rhyne Howard doesn’t know how to be anything else.

“She hated cross country,” Avery said. “Hated it. I said, ‘You don’t have to win. Just do it for conditioning and endurance.’ But she’s a competitor and she would always come out first.”

With that same kind of determination, Howard has also made an instant impact in her first WNBA season.

In March, Howard was preparing for the NCAA Tournament, but the looming WNBA Draft was never far from the Kentucky star’s mind. Making it in the league had always been her goal. She wanted it even before she was a middle-school cross country star.

That was five months ago.

Since then, Howard has been drafted No. 1 overall, made a statement with 33 points in her fourth WNBA game, and become the first rookie with 17 points in the first quarter of a game, all while averaging 15.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals for the sixth-place Atlanta Dream.

On Sunday, she added WNBA All-Star to her ever-growing list of accomplishments. Howard finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists for Team Wilson in a 134-112 victory at Wintrust Arena.

And though the All-Star Game was light-hearted, Howard’s performance was indicative of her rookie season thus far.

The Dream star lined up a corner 3-pointer to start the second quarter, which received a bow-and-arrow celebration from Candace Parker on the bench. She followed it up with a one-footed runner in the lane.

Perhaps Howard’s most impressive play came with a minute left in the third quarter. She caught the ball a few steps inside the 3-point line, dribbled beyond the arc and locked eyes with her defender before rising up for a quick-release 3.

“Rhyne is a beast,” Parker said after the game. “Becky (Hammon) and I were talking about Rhyne Howard and how she’s just different. Like the way she moves, the way she pulls up. I know there’s little things maybe the fans don’t see, but us players see, like the spin she puts on the ball when she’s laying it up. She’s different.”

Howard has long been a natural and dynamic scorer. Her abilities were apparent during her four years at Kentucky, where she was a two-time All-American and SEC Player of the Year while leading the Wildcats to their first SEC championship in 40 years as a senior.

Howard’s game isn’t the only thing that made a seamless transition to the WNBA. Avery was in the stands on Sunday, just like she was at nearly every Kentucky game. She’s already made it to most of Howard’s contests with the Dream as well, despite saying in March that she would likely be cutting back once Howard was a pro.

“She’s capping,” Howard said, with a youthful smile spreading across her face. “She comes to every game. I don’t understand why she would say that.”

Howard’s WNBA success hasn’t changed much about her lifestyle. Those who followed her at Kentucky know the guard is generally shy and media appearances and interviews have never been her thing. But on Friday, as Howard walked the Orange Carpet and spoke with countless reporters, she appeared comfortable.

WNBA stardom means she can’t avoid press, so Howard is trying to embrace it.

“It’s going to have to happen so I’m just making it easier on myself,” she said.

The way Howard is playing just two months into her WNBA season — infusing life into the Dream after three straight losing seasons and holding her own alongside legends on WNBA All-Star weekend — the spotlight is only going to grow brighter.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The 2022 WNBA All-Star roster is set. The game’s 12 reserves were announced Tuesday afternoon, including Atlanta Dream rookie Rhyne Howard.

Howard’s selection makes her the first rookie to be named an All-Star since Napheesa Collier in 2019. Collier was an injury replacement for A’ja Wilson, who was named to the All-Star team as a rookie in 2018.

Howard is the only player on the list of reserves to be making the first All-Star appearance of her career.

The league’s head coaches voted on the reserves. Coaches could vote for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position, but they were not allowed to vote for their own players.

The Chicago Sky feature heavily in the reserve selections, as Kahleah Copper, Emma Meesseman and Courtney Vandersloot join starter Candace Parker. The Sky are hosting the All-Star game for the first time, on July 10 at the Wintrust Arena.

Just one team did not have a single All-Star selection: the last-place Indiana Fever.

All-Star captains Sylvia Fowles, Sue Bird, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart will draft the two teams at 3 p.m. ET on July 2 from among the remaining starters and the 12 reserves.

List of reserves:

  • Ariel Atkins, Washington Mystics
  • Kahleah Copper, Chicago Sky
  • Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury
  • Dearica Hamby, Las Vegas Aces
  • Natasha Howard, New York Liberty
  • Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream
  • Brionna Jones, Connecticut Sun
  • Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm
  • Emma Meesseeman, Chicago Sky
  • Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings
  • Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
  • Courtney Vandersloot, Chicago Sky

List of starters:

  • Sue Bird, Seattle Storm
  • Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx
  • Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty
  • Jonquel Jones, Connecticut Sun
  • Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks
  • Candace Parker, Chicago Sky
  • Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces
  • Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
  • A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
  • Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces

AD Durr was traded to the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday, but the Georgia native already starred for the team – in a commercial way back in 2008.

Durr’s father Terry knew someone involved in the production of the TV spot, and 10-year-old AD auditioned for the part at a park in downtown Atlanta, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported in 2017.

The ad starts with a group of boys playing basketball in a park. From the sidelines, Durr asks: “Hey, can I play?”

The boys reluctantly allow Durr to join, and they put on a show. A quick montage shows Durr blocking a shot, sinking a jumper, zipping a no-look pass across the court and more.

“Ever wonder what happens to girls like this?” a voiceover asks. The commercial provides an answer: They grow up to become WNBA players. The ad cuts to video of players from the then-new Dream franchise, which played its first season in 2008.

Durr recalls the first time they saw the ad on television.

“I remember I was at home sitting on the floor watching TV, and it came on out of nowhere,” they told the Courier-Journal. “When they shoot it they make you do the same takes over and over again, so I had never seen the final product.”

Now Durr, 25, has brought the commercial to life, joining the Dream via trade from the New York Liberty, the team that drafted them with the No. 2 overall pick in 2019.

AD Durr has been traded to the Atlanta Dream from the New York Liberty in exchange for Megan Walker and the rights to Raquel Carrera, a 2021 draftee who is currently playing in Spain.

The news was first reported by Spencer Nusbaum of The Next Hoops and later confirmed by the Dream.

“We are excited fort the opportunity to add AD to our roster,” Dream coach Tanisha Wright said in a statement. “We understand the obstacles AD has fought through to get back to playing basketball, and we look forward to teaming up with them and continuing that journey. AD’s talent speaks for itself, and we think there is no better place to unlock it than here in their home state.”

Durr is originally from Douglasville, Ga., just outside of Atlanta. The guard is in their second WNBA season after missing the past two seasons with long-haul symptoms of COVID-19. After being cleared to play last November, they have worked their way back on the court.

In their rookie season, Durr averaged 9.7 points per game. In 10 games so far this season, they are averaging 1.4 points in 7.0 minutes per game.

Rhyne Howard continues to impress in her rookie campaign, showcasing her skills with a step-back jumper in the Atlanta Dream’s win Wednesday against the Minnesota Lynx.

Howard went on to lead all Dream scorers with 22 points and four rebounds. The performance came the same day that Howard was named Rookie of the Month by the WNBA.

With an average of 17.4 points per game on the season, Howard ranks eighth in the league and first amongst rookies.

The Dream outscored the Lynx in all but one quarter as four other players scored in double-digits to help lead the Atlanta Dream to a 6-3 start. Despite a 20-point performance from Kayla McBride, the Lynx fell to 2-8 on the season.

Atlanta next plays the Chicago Sky on Friday.

As we close the door on May, the WNBA picture is beginning to come into focus. Almost every player is back from their overseas seasons, and the standings are looking a little bit more like what we expected before the games began.

This means we have more data to work with when placing our WNBA bets, so let’s get into what the numbers have been telling us and what it all might mean going forward.

Team trends

Last time we checked in, every team had already both won and lost against the spread. Now, every team’s already done both at least twice. Despite the parity, some clear tendencies have emerged for certain teams.

Aces covering

Becky Hammon’s masterful coaching job has been well documented, and it’s clearly leading to success on the court. It’s also leading to success for Aces bettors, as Las Vegas is currently 7-2 against the spread.

The Aces will face their toughest test yet against Connecticut on Tuesday night, but considering A’ja Wilson and company have covered the spreads by more than five points per game on average, it’s worth riding them as long as they keep cashing in.

Fever flying

Last time around in this space, we told you how Indiana was playing at a historic tempo. In theory, any time someone is on a historic pace for a certain stat a week into the season, regression is probably coming. It still might be, but it hasn’t hit yet — not even with a midseason coaching change.

In fact, Indiana has been even friendlier to over bettors since our last piece. While essentially maintaining that blazing speed over the last two weeks, the Fever have also played better offense (increasing their points per possession from 93.7 before May 17 to 103.7 since) and worse defense (from 97.4 to 115.5).

The coaching change didn’t seem to change that, as the Sparks and Fever flirted with 200 overall points in Carlos Knox’s first game at the helm last week. Don’t hesitate to pull the trigger on Indiana overs as long as this trend keeps up.

Mystics grinding

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have the Mystics — potentially a less extreme betting version of last year’s Sun. Washington is the only team playing at a slower pace than Connecticut thus far, and Mike Thibault’s defense has been clicking despite the constant rotation flux.

The result? The Mystics have hit the under in eight of their nine games, and have come up more than eight points short of the over/under on average.

As fate would have it, the Fever and the Mystics meet Tuesday, so tune in to see who wins between the unstoppable force and the immovable object. (For what it’s worth, these two teams matched up in the season opener, and at 154 combined points remains the lowest-scoring Fever game this year.)

Connecticut jump balls

If you really want to get into some obscure bets, you can place a bet on which team will score first on BetMGM Sportsbook. Obviously team offensive and defensive strength plays a big part in this, but another factor is who wins the jump ball.

If you go that route, take a look at the Sun. Jonquel Jones has won every opening tip this season, and she won her last eight of the 2021 regular season as well, giving her a streak of 16 straight in the regular season (she only won three of four in Connecticut’s semifinal loss to Chicago).

Tuesday’s game is an interesting test as BetMGM favors Las Vegas to score first given the Aces’ edge in the overall game, but A’ja Wilson has won fewer than half of her jump balls this season. Despite Las Vegas’ overall dominance, they’ve scored first in only four games this year. It may be worth taking a chance on the Sun here.

League trends

Checking on trends we’ve been monitoring

So far, we’ve been keeping an eye on back-to-back unders, fourth-quarter unders, and live second-quarter unders.

Back-to-back unders are just 1-4, but that’s a bit misleading. Two games were a back-to-back for one of the teams, but the other team had a game in between. Both of those went way under. And the total of 153 in the New York/Seattle game went under the opening line, but by tip time the line had dropped to 152.5, so it technically went over. It’s still too early to know if this will be a trend in 2022.

We have a much bigger sample on quarter unders, and while fourth-quarter unders have continued to hover around 50/50, second-quarter unders are still sitting at 60 percent through over 50 games.

Scoring on the upswing

Two weeks ago, unders were 12-9, and the average total was not even 160. Since then, overs have gone 18-10, and the average game score has been 164.5.

Maybe we can partially blame the Fever, but it seems as though the league as a whole has picked up the scoring in recent days.

Futures update

As the season settles in, the title odds haven’t shifted quite as much in recent days. Here are FanDuel’s biggest movers of the last two weeks.

Stock up: Dream (+10000 previous to +6000 current)

These odds haven’t even changed since Atlanta’s thrashing of Phoenix on Sunday, so this number could continue to move in the coming days.

After three straight seasons of porous defense, this year’s Dream squad has done a full 180 in that department, holding opponents to an effective 42.3 field goal percentage. That mark would be fifth best in league history, and the last team to achieve it over a full season was the 2002 Houston Comets.

Stock down: Liberty (+2100 previous to +8000 current)

It’s hard to sugarcoat this one too much. Ever since opening the season with a win over the Sun, the Liberty have looked nothing like what many predicted entering the season.

A seven-game losing streak that includes three losses by 27 or more points is enough to wonder if this team has any hope of turning it around by season’s end.

Best bets tonight

Las Vegas -3.5 vs. Connecticut

Don’t overthink it. The Sun are as tough of an opponent as Las Vegas will face (it’s Connecticut’s first time being an underdog this season), but until further notice, the Aces are on autobet mode.

Besides, as good as Natisha Hiedeman has looked, Connecticut is 1-2 against the spread since Jasmine Thomas went down.

Dallas +1.5 vs. Los Angeles

This is a prime bounce-back spot for the Wings after a blowout loss to the Sun ended an impressive run of three wins in three cities in six days. The Wings have been the better team this year and should be favored here.

Don’t forget to check the injury reports before placing this bet though: Jordin Canada missed the Sparks’ last game, so if she is back for this one, you may be able to get Dallas at a better line.

Calvin Wetzel is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports, covering basketball and betting. He also contributes to Her Hoop Stats, CBS SportsLine and FiveThirtyEight. Follow him on Twitter at @cwetzel31.

Week 3 of the WNBA season is here, with some exciting matchups in the week ahead.

Three storylines to watch

Can Liz Cambage and the Sparks upend the Las Vegas Aces?

Liz Cambage’s first game against her former team comes Monday as the Aces ride a three-game winning streak. The team is one win away from winning all four games on its homestand after a 100-80 victory over Phoenix.

Cambage is averaging 16.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks through the Sparks’ first six games. But the team has won two and lost four, despite Cambage scoring a season-high 25 points, eight rebounds and three assists against Seattle on Friday.

The Aces, meanwhile, set a franchise record for points in a quarter Saturday with 38 points in the third – also the high water mark for the WNBA this season.

Jackie Young continues to be solid for the Aces, dropping 20 points in the win alongside Kelsey Plum, who had 24 points. They’ll look to their heavy hitters once again as they attempt to win their fourth game in a row.

Round 2: Shakira Austin vs. Rhyne Howard

The Atlanta Dream and the Washington Mystics will face off once again Tuesday after the Mystics took the first game 78-73 on Friday.

That game marked the first meeting between rookies Shakira Austin and Rhyne Howard. Howard finished with 21 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals, while Austin had 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Austin earned her first start alongside Elena Delle Donne on Sunday against Chicago, showing up and showing out in the game’s first half. She finished with 14 points, five rebounds, one block and one steal in Washington’s 82-73 loss.

The Mystics currently sit one game ahead of the Dream in the standings, making Tuesday’s contest all the more important.

Can the Connecticut Sun continue their winning ways against Dallas?

To no one’s surprise, the Connecticut Sun are off to a hot start in the season, having won their last four since dropping the season opener.

The Wings are right behind them, having won their last two games. Arike Ogunbowale leads the way with 19.7 points per game through six games. Marina Mabrey has been averaging 15.8 points and 4.3 rebounds.

Connecticut is led by Alyssa Thomas with 19 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals, while reigning league MVP Jonquel Jones is averaging 15.2 points and 8.4 rebounds.

The two teams will face off twice this week, on Tuesday and again on Thursday.

Week 3 Schedule

  • Los Angeles Sparks vs. Las Vegas Aces, Monday at 10 p.m. ET
  • Dallas Wings vs. Connecticut Sun, Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET
  • Atlanta Dream vs. Washington Mystics, Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET
  • Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky, Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET
  • New York Liberty vs. Minnesota Lynx, Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET
  • Phoenix Mercury vs. Los Angeles Sparks, Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. ET
  • Dallas Wings vs. Connecticut Sun, Thursday at 7 p.m. ET
  • Los Angeles Sparks vs. Indiana Fever, Friday at 7 p.m. ET
  • New York Liberty vs. Seattle Storm, Friday at 10 p.m. ET
  • Las Vegas Aces vs. Chicago Sky, Saturday at 3 p.m. ET
  • Washington Mystics vs. Connecticut Sun, Saturday at 7 p.m. ET
  • Phoenix Mercury vs. Atlanta Dream, Sunday at 12 p.m. ET
  • New York Liberty vs. Seattle Storm, Sunday at 6 p.m. ET
  • Los Angeles Sparks vs. Minnesota Lynx, Sunday at 7 p.m. ET

When Atlanta Dream rookie Rhyne Howard dropped 33 points Sunday against the Indiana Fever, she did so in front of a sea of Kentucky blue.

A group of over 60 Kentucky fans got on a bus to Indianapolis to watch the guard play in her fourth professional game. After the game, Howard called the experience “super special.”

“They made this game feel like a home game,” Howard said. “It just shows how much love they have for their players — not just me, but if it was anybody else they would have done the same. So it just speaks a lot on Big Blue Nation and how they care for their players.”

Howard celebrated with the group after the game, with Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy thanking those that attended.

“We always have to take care of our own,” Elzy wrote on Twitter.

Howard, who continues to make her case for Rookie of the Year, was selected No. 1 overall out of Kentucky and now has the Dream (3-1) off to their best start since 2017.