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Atlanta, GA -- Reshanda Gray's first career double-double with the Dream came as Atlanta took on the Dallas Wings at the McCamish Pavilion on Georgia Tech's campus on Friday Night. Gray finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds while playing 28 minutes - all being her career highs.
When entering the locker room, the enthusiasm and praise from her fellow teammates was extraordinary. Every Dream player was pointing, leading each member of the media to Reshanda's seat. It was clear that the rest of her team noticed Gray's outstanding performance, and the whole Dream locker room was all smiles.
Gray has only been in the WNBA two years, being drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in 2015. She spent her college career playing for California's Golden Bears, helping her team reach its first NCAA Final Four in 2013. Gray was also named as the Pac-12 Player of the Year by the league's head coaches her senior year.
Ironically, her time at California ignited her performance today against the Wings.
Coming off the bench, Gray had nine points alone in the first quarter, and continued scoring until she had reached the 22-point mark and racked up seven rebounds by the end of the third quarter.
"Today actually, my college posted a ‘Flashback Friday' video of my highlights and that really put that motor under me, and I just got my mojo back - and I was like, ‘I'm going to go until someone stops me,'" Gray said.
Dream forward Angel McCoughtry had seen her teammate's highlights, too. "I went up to her and asked her, ‘Man did you see those highlights? You're a beast!' I told her that she needs to watch those highlights before every game. I think they just really reminded her of her old self, and it really sparked her game tonight."
Atlanta Dream's head coach Michael Cooper was proud of Reshanda's performance coming off of the bench.
"Sometimes it takes our own film to get us fired up a little bit, and I think she did that extremely well," Cooper said. "But you know what, I've never questioned Rashanda's energy, her enthusiasm for the game, and her camaraderie with her teammates.
"And those are three things that are intangibles that it takes for an individual to be on a special team, and for a special team to be a championship team. She brings those, and I didn't expect anything less from her. I am glad that she looked at her videos, though," he continued.
When Gray was asked about a particular moment she knew she was going to have a good night; she simply said, "It was just something when I got out there that I realized. When my name was called, I was ready. I'm always ready, and every game I try to leave it all on the floor."
Going into a long break, Gray said that her and her team "really wanted to go out with a good one." According to Cooper, the win was really special for him as well.
The team will have a month to recover, rest, and are hoping to come out strong in order to turn the next nine games of the season into victories.