Karl Smesko and the Atlanta Dream dropped to 21-13 on the 2026 WNBA season on Sunday, falling to Stephanie White and the Indiana Fever 95-91 in overtime. The Dream now remain in fifth place in the WNBA standings, with the Fever sitting one spot ahead of them after securing a 23-12 record.
Rhyne Howard and Angel Reese both had a chance to secure the win for Atlanta in the final seconds of regulation, both missing a potential game-winning shot. Still, both Dream stars had nice performances as Howard tallied 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Reese added 15 points and 14 rebounds.
But it wasn't enough to stop Aliyah Boston and the Fever, who outscored Atlanta 14-10 in overtime.
© Brett Davis-Imagn Images
After the loss, Coach Smesko spoke to the media for a postgame press conference. When asked what parts of this game he will talk about with the team, Smesko proceeded to give the Fever their flowers, calling White's squad "excellent."
"Well, I think it shows that we have a really good team," Smesko said. "Indiana's excellent. And despite being short-handed, we were right there. That's why it hurt so much is because we were right there. Just have to be able to finish that off a little bit better, and then, when teams make an adjustment, be a little quicker to make our own adjustments...
"We talked about what we wanted in the timeouts. But one thing that we have an issue with is and this year we've actually been so much better with it. Fourth quarters have usually been ours. But one thing in the past we had trouble with is that they get to the fourth quarter and then we just watch one person with the ball try to create everything and it was just a weird time for that to come back up...
"That hasn't been us all year, and I don't expect it to be us going forward. And despite that, we had our chance to win."
Up next for Smesko and the Dream, a battle with the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.
