Dream vs. Tempo: Rhyne Howard Becomes Fastest in WNBA History to 100 3-Pointers in a Season in 107-95 Win

With 4:17 left on Monday night, Jordin Canada kicked the ball to Rhyne Howard 25 feet from the rim, and a shot in a game that was already decided became a line in the WNBA record book. That make was No. 100 of Howard's season, and nobody in league history has gotten there faster.

Howard finished with six 3-pointers and 22 points, Angel Reese posted 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Atlanta handled the Toronto Tempo 107-95 at Gateway Center. It took Howard 31 games to reach 100. The old mark was 33, which she had shared with Diana Taurasi, so she has now officially lapped both a legend and her own previous self. Speedrunners, take notes.

One Close Quarter, Then a Door Slam

Toronto hung around for about one period. The game had six lead changes in all, the Tempo got in front by as many as three, and Atlanta carried only a 24-22 edge into the second. Then the Dream hit 57.1% of their shots in the second quarter, won it 30-17 and went to the break up 54-39.

The start of the third felt like a fire drill. Canada, Naz Hillmon and Reese combined to rip off nine straight in less than a minute and a half, making it 66-41 and pushing the lead to 25, the biggest of the night.

At that point most teams riding an eight-game losing streak would quietly start thinking about the flight. Marina Mabrey did not get that memo. She finished with 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting, with seven 3s and a perfect 5 of 5 at the line, and Toronto outscored Atlanta 56-53 after halftime. By the fourth it was a track meet with nothing at stake except pride and one very specific milestone.

The Turning Point: Thirty to Seventeen

The final score flatters Toronto. This game was decided in that second quarter, when Atlanta turned a two-point game into a 15-point game in 10 minutes. The AP notes the Dream improved to 14-2 when leading at the half, which tells you how much those 56 second-half points were ever likely to matter.

Howard then took care of the only remaining suspense. Nyara Sabally's bucket had cut it to 97-84 with 4:27 left. Howard hit from 25 feet at 4:17, then from 25 feet again at 3:55 to make it 103-86. That was two 3s in 22 seconds, both off Canada passes.

"Rhy hit some big 3s in the fourth to separate things and we were able to close it out," Dream coach Karl Smesko said.

Howard, Reese and a Very Crowded Box Score

Howard went 6 of 11 from deep with seven assists, three steals and zero turnovers in 36 minutes. She needed five 3s to reach 100 and hit one more for good measure, which is a complete game with a record taped to the front of it. Four of her teammates scored at least 15 and she still led the team, which says plenty about how loaded this box score was.

Reese grabbed six of her 14 rebounds on the offensive end. It was her 22nd double-double of the season. That is a new franchise single-season record for double-doubles, per the AP, and it leaves her six behind the WNBA record of 28 that Alyssa Thomas set in 2023. She is chasing that number with the same energy she brings to a missed shot.

Canada had 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and her free throw with 2:54 left in the third gave her 2,500 career points, per the Dream. Hillmon scored 11, registered her 100th career steal and finished plus-20, the best mark in the game. Allisha Gray scored 15 on a night the team gave away her signature goggles. Brionna Jones came off the bench for 15 on 5-of-5 shooting, giving Atlanta six players with at least 11.

"I think my teammates, they have my back," Jones said.

Toronto got 18 off the bench from Kiki Rice, who shot 7 of 11 with six assists and no turnovers. Sabally had 12 points, 12 rebounds and four steals, along with five turnovers. Isabelle Harrison scored 13 and Aneesah Morrow added 11. Per the AP, this was the third time this season Mabrey has made at least seven 3s in a game, and on most nights a 36-point scorer would get to enjoy it.

Stats That Matter

• 31 games: How long it took Howard to make 100 3-pointers in a season, two fewer than the old WNBA mark.
• 14 of 32: Atlanta from deep, or 43.8%, with six from Howard.
• 39-25: The Dream's rebounding edge, including 12 offensive boards to Toronto's five.
• 29-20: Assists, on 36 Atlanta baskets.
• 36 points: Mabrey's total in 33 minutes, for a team that still lost by 12.

What It Means

Atlanta moved to 20-12 overall and 12-5 at home, bouncing back from Friday's 79-74 loss at Washington. The Dream also closed out a 4-0 season sweep of Toronto, and they go to Connecticut on Thursday. "We took good shots, we took the shots we wanted," Smesko said, and 51.4% shooting backs him up.

Toronto is 10-22, including 4-11 on the road. That is nine straight losses, dating to July 14 against Washington, and the Tempo's next stop is Dallas on Wednesday. The early-season fun of being a brand-new team has been replaced by a much harder question about who can stop anybody.

Final Word

Smesko did his postgame talking in a black T-shirt with Gray's image on it and a pair of her goggles on top of his head, which is the correct amount of commitment to a promotional giveaway. Every good speedrun needs witnesses, and Howard's had 3,575 of them at Gateway Center, plus a coach in goggles and a franchise-record double-double happening on the side. She shaved two games off a mark she once shared with Taurasi. Whoever wants it next should start training now.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Records as reported by the Associated Press and the Atlanta Dream. Quotes from the Atlanta Dream.