No. 4 Atlanta eked it out last night, as the Dream outlasted No. 8 New York 101-98 in overtime to seize a 2-0 semifinal lead in the best-of-five Liberty vs Dream WNBA playoffs series.
With top scorer Allisha Gray sidelined, Atlanta converted 17 turnovers into 28 points behind DPOY Angel Reese and breakout guard Jordin Canada.
“Adversity builds character,” Reese said. “All of us have been in situations in our life where we felt like it was the last possession, or our backs were against the wall... All of us were saying, ‘Just one more.’”
Liberty star Breanna Stewart put up 25 first-half points but was held to 10 after the break, while rookie Marine Fauthoux erupted for a career-high 20 — including the clutch 3-pointer that forced overtime.
Confusion ruled the game’s final seconds, as Stewart said she called for a timeout and was denied, while the crew chief stated otherwise — leading the New York to file an official inquiry into the situation.
“When I ask both refs if we have a reset timeout at the end, and they tell us ‘no,’ and then we leave the game with a reset timeout, it’s pretty frustrating,” she told reporters. “Would just love to have some clarity on that.”
The series lands in Brooklyn on Friday, as the Liberty hosts the Dream at 7:30 PM ET (ESPN2).
