On the Beat With the Atlanta Dream 05/21/2021

On Friday morning, the Atlanta Dream held a press session featuring Elizabeth Williams and Monique Billings. This was my first time in a Dream media session and it brings my total WNBA teams to nine of the 12). .It was an unusually short session, because the team was preparing for their game against the Indiana Fever that night. The media session can be found at On the Beat With the Atlanta Dream 05/21/2021.

Both players discussed playing with and against Jessica Breland, who played for the Dream in 2018 and 2019. The well-traveled Breland started her WNBA career with the New York Liberty in 2011, but she was actually drafted by the Minnesota Lynx with the 13th overall pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft. Midway through the 2011 season, she joined the Connecticut Sun. She was out of the WNBA in 2012, but returned with the Indiana Fever in 2013. After just one season with the Fever, she signed with the Chicago Sky. She played four seasons with the Sky, before joining the Dream for two seasons. In 2020, she played for the Phoenix Mercury. This is her first season back with the Fever. Along the way, Breland made a lot of friends and is a very popular player.

Williams and Billings also talked about their roles on the team and the team's game plan in general. Billings gave a review of her team's performance in the previous game. Both players indicated the Dream has the potential, citing the excellent defensive showing. The team needs to play consistent throughout the game, not just a half.

The Dream went into Friday night's game 0-2, but Indiana was also looking for their first win against three losses. In the end, the Dream edged the Fever 83-79 in a game that went down to the wire.

Go to WNBA.com for more info on the Dream and the league. Also, check my recurring coverage here, on GlobalTravleerUSA.com, Patch.com and GlobalWomensSportsRadio.com.

On the Beat With the Dallas Wings 05/20/2021

The Dallas Wings held an off day press session featuring Charlie Collier and Kayla Thornton. The session was short but very interesting.

Overall No. one draft pick power forward Collier started the sessiontalking about the difference she has noted in pro ball. Surprisingly, Collier spoke of the amount of space in the WNBA. Often times, players will comment the floor seems more crowded, because players are bigger, stronger and faster, seemingly everywhere on the court. Collier went the opposite way, saying she had to get used to the extra space.

The discussion then moved on to how Collier has prepared for Breanna Stewart, her next opponent. Collier gave praise to Stewie, while giving insight into her preparation for the task in the upcoming game against Seattle.

Forward Thornton started her portion of the session talking about the team jelling with all of the young talent and new coach. That led to her talking about playing for new Head Coach (and former player) Vickie Johnson and her changing role within the team's system.

Dallas is 1-0, having beaten the Los Angeles Sparks in their season opener. On Saturday night, the Wings host the Storm (2-1) in their home opener. The line is not yet out on the game, but it is my guess the Storm will be favored by 3.5 points. Win or lose, this will be a good early season test for the young Wings. A strong showing will be a good sign going forward.

The media session can be found at On the Beat With the Dallas Wings 05/20/2021. Check here for my recurring WNBA coverage and also on GlobalTravelerUSA.com, GlobalSportsRadio.com and Patch.com. Also, check WNBA.com for more info on the Wings and the WNBA.