Tiffany Hayes scored 31 points and Rhyne Howard shot 6 of 9 from 3-point range en route to 24 points as the visiting Atlanta Dream used a dominant first quarter to top the Las Vegas Aces 92-76 on Tuesday night.

Howard knocked down three of her six 3-pointers in the early going as Atlanta (12-14) raced out to a 35-18 lead through one frame. The Dream pushed their advantage to as many as 20 points before intermission and took a 16-point lead into the half.

Las Vegas (18-8) used a 16-6 run through the first 4:05 of the second half to pull within six points, culminating on a four-point possession when Atlanta coach Tanisha Wright was assessed a technical foul disputing an A’ja Wilson three-point play.

However, the Dream weathered the onslaught, outscoring Las Vegas 12-4 for the remainder of the third.

Atlanta closed its scoring for the period on 3-pointers by AD Durr and Aari McDonald. Durr scored all six of her points off the bench from beyond the arc, and McDonald went 2-for-2 from deep as part of her 11-point performance.

Durr and McDonald’s contributions from range helped the Dream post a blistering 62.5 percent (15 of 24) from outside. Hayes went 4-for-5 from 3-point range, in addition to a 11-for-14 mark from the field.

Las Vegas shot just 36.6 percent, including a 10-for-35 showing from 3-point range.

Wilson led the Aces with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum added 18 and 17 points. The rest of the Las Vegas roster combined for just 19 points.

The Dream got nine points, nine rebounds and a team-high five assists from Cheyenne Parker, while Naz Hillmon chipped in seven points and 10 rebounds.

Plum dished a game-high seven assists. Young chipped in six assists and grabbed five rebounds for Las Vegas, which saw its winning streak snapped at three games with Tuesday’s loss.

–Field Level Media