College Park, Ga. — The Atlanta Dream took full advantage of a depleted New York Liberty squad on Saturday, rolling to a convincing 78-62 victory and setting a franchise record with their 24th win of the season.
Led by Allisha Gray’s 19 points and Brionna Jones’ 17, the Dream jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The win keeps Atlanta (24-13) ahead of New York (22-15) in the race for the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs and evens the season series at 2-2 — with each team winning on its home court.
“We knew how important this game was for playoff positioning,” said head coach Tanisha Wright. “The energy was there from the start, and we never let up.”
Fast Start, Strong Finish
Atlanta set the tone early, racing out to a 12-4 lead and finishing the first quarter up 24-14. By the third quarter, the Dream’s lead ballooned to 26 points, effectively putting the game out of reach. While the Liberty responded with a 15-0 run to close the gap, they never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Balanced Effort
Naz Hillmon chipped in 11 points off the bench as the Dream continued their strong late-season surge, winning 9 of their last 11. Atlanta was locked in on both ends, dominating the rebounding battle and converting hustle plays into points.
The Dream grabbed nine more boards than New York and turned 13 Liberty turnovers into 18 points, while only committing five turnovers themselves. Atlanta also scored 21 second-chance points, compared to just 7 for the Liberty.
Shorthanded Liberty Struggle
New York was missing two of its biggest stars, with Breanna Stewart still sidelined by a bruised knee and Sabrina Ionescu sitting out with a foot injury. Only eight players suited up for the Liberty, who looked out of sync from the jump.
Kennedy Burke led New York with 13 points, while Jonquel Jones and Emma Meesseman added 11 and 10, respectively. The defending champs have now dropped back-to-back games and are slipping in the standings at a critical moment.
