PHOENIX — Cheyenne Parker matched her season high with 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Tiffany Hayes added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists and the Atlanta Dream defeated the Phoenix Mercury 85-75 on Sunday.
Sophie Cunningham hit a 3-pointer with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter to give Phoenix a 73-70 lead, but Erica Wheeler answered with back-to-back 3s, Hayes made a floater to make it 78-73 and the Dream led the rest of the way. The Mercury went 1 for 7 from the field and committed three turnovers over the final 5-plus minutes.
Wheeler added 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Atlanta (11-14), and AD Durr hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range and finished with 12 points.
Rhyne Howard (right shoulder), Nia Coffey (right knee) and Monique Billings (right ankle) did not play for the Dream. Howard, the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft, is the team’s leading scorer (14.7 per game), and Billings leads Atlanta in rebounding (6.2 per game).
The Dream snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the third time in their last nine games.
Diana Taurasi led Phoenix (11-16) with 23 points and Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 14, but the duo combined to make 12 of 36 from the field and 2 of 13 from 3-point range. Shey Peddy tied her season high with 16 points, grabbed six rebounds and had five assists. Cunningham finished with 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
