Rhyne Howard is finally heading to the WNBA semifinals, a place she’s fought for through years of college and professional playoff heartbreak. Her Atlanta Dream squad completed a dominant sweep of the Washington Mystics, punching their ticket and shaking off a heavy past that had dogged their superstar.
The College Heartbreak That Shaped a Star
Look, everyone knows how brutal college basketball can be, where even a Sweet 16 run feels like a massive win. But for Howard, that feeling was always just out of reach. Remember Kentucky’s improbable run in the 2022 SEC Tournament, when Dre’una Edwards dropped that dramatic three with 4.2 seconds left to beat South Carolina? It should have propelled them in the NCAA tourney, but then No. 11-seed Princeton knocked them out in the first round. That was Howard’s last shot at a Sweet 16 as a senior, and it fell short.
And it wasn’t an isolated incident. The COVID era robbed her of the 2020 tournament entirely. Her other two seasons ended in the Round of 32. In 2019, as a No. 6 seed, they couldn’t get it done. Then in 2021, a No. 4 seed, they lost home court because the entire tournament was in San Antonio. That year, Howard put up a monster 28 points, eight assists, six steals, and five rebounds, but it wasn’t enough against then-freshman Caitlin Clark and her 35 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds for Iowa. She was a three-time All-America First Teamer and a two-time SEC Player of the Year, but a Sweet 16? Never happened.
From College Curse to Pro Problem: The Playoff Wall
That college curse seemed to follow Howard right into the WNBA. Before this season, she had hit a semifinal wall, failing to advance past the first round three years in a row. It really felt like a curse last year, when her Atlanta Dream were favored to beat an Indiana Fever team they had finished six games better than, but still couldn’t pull it off.
It’s wild to think about, but Howard actually dropped 36 points in her WNBA playoff debut back in 2023, absolutely torching Dallas on the road with 8-for-15 from beyond the arc. She averaged 16.7 points over her next six playoff games, showing flashes, but the team just couldn’t break through. The frustration had to be building for her, for the Dream, and for the fans watching it all unfold.
Sweeping the Mystics and Breaking Free
But this year? Different story. Last Sunday, Howard exploded for her second-highest postseason scoring output with 26 points in Atlanta’s 92-77 Game 1 win over the Washington Mystics. That’s the kind of performance that makes you sit up and take notice. And if the Mystics had somehow clawed their way back, it would have been another gut-wrenching moment. Washington is scrappy, they wouldn’t have gone down easy.
Instead, Howard and the Dream refused to let it happen. On Wednesday night in D.C., they closed it out, defeating the Mystics 93-75 in Game 2 to complete the sweep! Howard was efficient, putting up 15 points, four assists, and two steals, going 2-for-3 from deep. It wasn’t just about her individual stats, it was about her prevailing, her team prevailing, and finally, getting past that seemingly insurmountable first-round barrier. The Atlanta Dream are now one of the last four standing. The WNBA needs to pay attention. Are Rhyne and the Dream ready for more postseason progress? You bet they are, and the rest of the league needs to be ready for what’s next.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Swish Appeal.
Leave a Reply