The Dream from One to One Hundred

Quite a while ago, I went to an Atlanta Braves game. One of the interesting between-innings activities was an interview with one of the ushers. He was an old man, and his schtick was that if you named any number between 1 and 100, he could tie that number into Atlanta Braves history.

#14? The Braves won their first championship in Boston in 1914.
#35? That was Phil Niekro's number, one of the numbers retired by the Atlanta Braves.
#92? That was how many games the Braves won in their first season in Milwaukee.

So I asked, "could I do this with the Atlanta Dream?" And I struggled and I struggled...but I did. Some of the connections are nebulous and should be replaced with something better - those are marked with a (*) - but here we go! The Dream from One to One Hundred!

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1. Chamique Holdsclaw's number.

2. Michelle Snow's number.

3. The number of consecutive championships that the Tennessee Volunteers won while Chamique Holdsclaw was attending.

4. The number of wins in Atlanta's first season.

5. Shalee Lehning's number

6. Atlanta's 2008 expansion draft was held on February 6, 2008.

7. Chantelle Anderson's number, worn only in an exhibition game.

8. Iziane Castro Marques's number. Tamera Young was also the eighth pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.

9. Chioma Nnamaka's number. It was also on April 9, 2009 that the Dream selected Angel McCoughtry in the 2009 WNBA Draft.

10.(*) Philips Arena has a 10 year streak of being ranked as a top 10 concert venue, and it's 10 years old.

11. Kristen Mann's number.

12. Ivory Latta's number.

13. Club 13 is the volunteer, grass roots sales force of the Atlanta Dream.

14. Erika de Souza's number.

15. Number of WNBA players who saw playing time for the Dream in the 2008 season.

16.(*) The largest shoe size available for the Nfinity basketball shoe. Nfinity is partnering with the Atlanta Dream in 2009.

17. The first regular season game of the Atlanta Dream took place on May 17, 2008. We lost that game. We opened the 2009 season with 17 losses, the WNBA consecutive loss record.

18. Number of letters in Iziane Castro Marques's name.

19.(*) Number of points that Chamique Holdsclaw averaged during her six years for the Mystics.

20. Camille Little's number. Little was the first player from the 2008 roster to be traded.

21. Jennifer Lacy's number.

22. Betty Lennox's number.

23. Tamera Young's 2008 number. In 2009, she'd switch to #11. Also the day the colors and name of the Dream were first revealed - January 23, 2008.

24. Number of times that the Dream sent the Shock to the free throw line on June 26, 2009 in the second quarter.

The Dream still won, though!

25. Position in the draft (second round) where Shalee Lehning was picked in 2009. She is the lowest-picked draft pick by Atlanta ever to start a Dream game.

26. Tamera Young's career high in points, scored against Detroit on June 29, 2008.

27.(*) Jessica Morrow of Baylor was signed with the #27 pick of the WNBA draft. She was the first pick of the third round, and not only didn't play for the dream, but never came to camp.

28.(*) Most points ever scored in a game by Chamique Holdsclaw while wearing an Atlanta Dream uniform. She's done it twice!

29. The age of Michelle Snow, until March 20, 2010.

30. Number of losses in 2008 by the Atlanta Dream, a WNBA record.

31. Number of games Ivory Latta started for Atlanta in 2008.

32. Stacey Lovelace-Tolbert's number.

33. Alison Bales's number.

34. Only two players played in 34 games in the 2008 season - Betty Lennox and Ivory Latta. Angel McCoughtry also set the WNBA bench scoring record with 34 points in 2009.

35. Angel McCoughtry's number both at Louisville and for the Dream. It's also Kasha Terry's old number.

36. Number of students in Shalee Lehning's graduating senior high school class in Sublette, Kansas.

37.(*) Katie Feenstra's position on the 2008 WNBA Trading Card's checklist.

38.(*) Tamera Young set the James Madison school record for points in a game with 38 points on March 20, 2008 against Radford.

39.(*) Average age of an Atlanta Dream spectator from 2008-09, according to Paige Blankenship.

40. Number of names considered for the new 2008 Atlanta Franchise. This number was whittled down to four (Dream, Fight, Surge and Sizzle) and finally, the name of the Dream was chosen.

41. Number worn by Erika de Souza when she was playing for Connecticut in 2007.

42. Nikki Teasley's number.

43. Ann Strother's number. Marynell Meadors was also born in 1943.

44. Katie Feenstra Mattera's number.

45. Coco Miller set the University of Georgia school record for points in a game with 45 against Charleston Southern in her freshman season. It's also the biggest lead Atlanta ever held in a game, leading Phoenix 95-40 at one time in the fourth quarter in a 2009 game.

46. Number of minutes Chamique Holdsclaw played in the Dream's opening game this year at home against Indiana.

47.(*) Number of WNBA sellouts in the Dream's first season in 2008.

48. You can donate a ticket to the Community Relations Department of the Atlanta Dream 48 hours before a game.

49.(*) Number of rebounds by Atlanta in their biggest win ever, 106-76 over Phoenix in 2009.

50. The maximum number of people that a large party suite at Philips Arena accomodates.

51. Marlies Gipson wore this number briefly in the 2009 training camp.

52. Number of losses the Washington Mystics suffered when Marynell Meadors was an assistant coach. (They had 50 wins when she was a coach.)

53. Number of rebounds Connecticut got in the Dream's very first regular season game. (The Dream only had 29.)

54. Atlanta's record was 5-4 during the nine games Angel McCoughtry played when she won Rookie of the Month in July 2009.

55. On February 24, 1999, the United States Senate paid tribute to Chamique Holdsclaw. February 24rd is the 55th day of the Gregorian calendar.

56. Ivory Latta is listed at 5 feet, 6 inches tall.

57. Number of games it took Chamique Holdsclaw to score 1000 points at Tennessee.

58. Betty Lennox is listed at 5 feet, 8 inches tall.

59. Shalee Lehning is listed at 5 feet, 9 inches tall. So is Armintie Price.

60. Iziane Castro Marques and Nikki Teasley were both listed at six feet: abbreviated 6-0.

61. Angel McCoughtry is listed at 6 feet, 1 inch tall.

62. Chamique Holdsclaw is listed at 6 feet, 2 inches tall.

63. Jennifer Lacy is listed at 6 feet, 3 inches tall.

64. Sancho Lyttle is listed at 6 feet, 4 inches tall.

65. Michelle Snow and Erika de Souza are listed at 6 feet, 5 inches tall.

66. The 2009 season opened on June 6, 2009, or 6/6/2009.

67. Alison Bales is listed at 6 feet, 7 inches tall. Dr. J, who has been to more than one Atlanta Dream game is also 6'7".

68. Katie Feenstra Mattera is listed at 6 feet, 8 inches tall.

69. Tennessee's winning streak of 69 home games ended with a 59-53 victory by Connecticut on January 6, 1996. Chamique Holdsclaw was on the court that day, and failed to score in the final nine minutes. (Also, see #70, below)

70. Coco Miller and her sister Kelly shared the 70th annual AAU Sullivan Award. It honors leadership and sportsmanship and is given to the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. They won the award in 1999. Chamique Holdsclaw won the 69th award in 1998. Aside from Kelly Miller, they are the only two women's basketball players to win a Sullivan Award.

71. Ann Strother scored 14 points when Connecticut beat Tennessee 71-60 in the NCAA women's basketball championship.

72. (*) The length of the backboard in inches at either backboard at Philips Arena.

73. Number of points scored in the Dream's first road victory, 73-67 against the Lynx on July 9, 2008.

74. Stacey Lovelace was born in 1974.

75. One gets off at I-75/I-85 to attend Dream games.

76. Betty Lennox was born in 1976.

77. Chamique Holdsclaw was born in 1977.

78. Coach Carol Ross started playing college basketball for Old Miss as a freshman in 1978.

79. Nikki Teasley was born in 1979.

80. Michelle Snow was born in 1980.

81. (*) Betty Lennox had 81 assists during her career with the Dream.

82. Iziane Castro Marques was born in 1982.

83. The Dream's home office is located at 83 Walton Street NW in Atlanta.

84. Ivory Latta was born in 1984.

85. Alison Bales was born in 1985.

86. Tamera Young was born in 1986.

87. The Dream beat the Indiana Fever 87-86 in 2 OT to open the 2009 regular season. It was the first time that Chamique Holdsclaw had played basketball in two years.

88. The Dream's first home game loss was to the Detroit Shock 88-76 on May 23, 2008.

89. Chamique Holdsclaw was born on August 9, 1977, or 8-9-77.

90. Armintie Price had played 90 regular season games before she was traded to the Dream.

91. The Dream scored 91 points in its very first win ever, 91-84 against Chicago in 2008.

92. Chamique Holdsclaw won a New York state championship as a sophomore member of a Christ the King team in 1992.

93. Holdsclaw began keeping a diary for USA Today in 1993 as a junior at Christ the King. She was 6-2 and weighed 152 pounds. Monday, Nov. 29: My chemistry teacher, Mr. Batzer, said he is going to give us a retest on chemical formulas. Everyone did horrible. I busted my chin scrimmaging the JV boys. I had to go to the emergency room at night because the cut wouldn't stop bleeding. We waited and waited, but no doctor arrived. That's New York.

94. Carol Ross was named SEC Coach of the Year at Florida in 1994.

95. Betty Lennox was finishing up her senior year with the Fort Osage Indians in 1995. They lost in the semifinals of the Missouri State Tournament, ending Lennox's high school career.

96. Professional women's basketball debuted in Atlanta with the Atlanta Glory of the American Basketball League in 1996.

97. Marynell Meadors was hired as the Head Coach of the Charlotte Sting in 1997.

98. Chamique Holdsclaw won the first of her two Naismith Player of the Year trophies.

99. Chamique Holdsclaw was the #1 draft pick of the 1999 WNBA Draft, selected by the Washington Mystics

100. Philips Arena is located at 100 Techwood Drive NW in Atlanta.