The Atlanta Dream have not minced their words against the referees this season. “The officiating is horrendous,” coach Karl Smesko said after their Washington Mystics loss, as Angel Reese was penalized for a foul the Dream felt should have gone the other way against the Mystics. Now, going up against the Golden State Valkyries, it was Allisha Gray who found herself on the wrong end of a questionable call before calling out the referees. 

“You just gotta keep playing,” Gray said during an in-game interview with CBS Sports. “The refs are trash, but we’re moving on from that. We just got to lock in, stick to the gameplan and keep playing aggressive.”

Maybe the officials took notice, as Gray attempted eight free throws in the fourth quarter. But it could not have been enough considering the pattern Dream fans are noticing.

In this game particularly, with just more than 2 minutes to go in the second quarter, Cecilia Zandalasini was defended tightly by Gray, but a shot to the face from Zandalasini sent Gray to the ground. The Atlanta Dream star was left fuming as she went to approach Zandalasini. But Rhyne Howard interrupted and pushed her off course to calm her down. Angel Reese, too, first argued with the referees and then spoke with Gray as teammates tried to calm her.

After review, Zandalasini was called for a flagrant 1, while Gray was awarded a technical, leading to some frustration. And later on, Gray gave Howard and Reese credit for cooling her down at the right time, which prevented any further escalation. 

“They keep me levelheaded. They keep me on the railroad track,” she said later during a post-game conference. “Sometimes my train tends to get a little off track, but Angel and Howard are right there to put me back on the track. They’ll let me have my little moment, then they’re like, “All right, now it’s time to reel you back in.”

Gray was also asked about the officiating in her postgame press conference, which Angel Reese interrupted by asking, “You want her to get a fine, right?” Gray did not anger the officials further in the press conference and said, “Not an offensive foul. You just got to go with it.”

And like Reese said, “No excuses.” Regardless of the officiating, it’s clear the Dream have lost their momentum, as they suffered their third defeat at the Valks’ hands, going 23-of-33 from the free throw line and 8-of-26 from beyond the arc on Saturday.