The Connecticut Sun’s acquisition of Marina Mabrey during the Olympic break already has paid dividends.
Mabrey, who was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Sky, debuted with 17 points in a 109-91 victory at Dallas on Friday.
Mabrey and the Sun will visit the Atlanta Dream on Sunday afternoon in College Park, Ga.
Mabrey’s presence was especially important Friday because Connecticut (19-6) played without starting guard DiJonai Carrington (personal reasons) and top reserve Tiffany Mitchell (illness).
Alyssa Thomas looked right at home in her first game with Mabrey, finishing with 14 assists, 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Dream (8-17) also were successful in their first game after the break. They ended an eight-game losing streak by defeating the visiting Seattle Storm 83-81 on Friday night.
Rhyne Howard scored a season-high 30 points, Allisha Gray had 19 and Tina Charles capped a 16-point performance by making a basket with 1.1 seconds left. Howard made three 3-pointers en route to scoring 14 points in the third quarter, and Jordin Canada supplied all 10 of her points in the fourth.
Howard, who helped the U.S. team win a bronze medal in 3-on-3 basketball at the Paris Games, had her fourth career 30-point game.
