An inconsistent team that is fresh off a big win meets the league leader that is coming off a tough loss when the Atlanta Dream visit the New York Liberty on Sunday afternoon.
The Dream (7-9) had lost seven of nine games before they marched into Uncasville, Conn., and knocked off second-place Connecticut 78-74 on Friday night.
Guard Allisha Gray shot 6-of-10 from the floor while scoring a team-high 17 points. She grabbed four of her five rebounds in the fourth quarter and blocked DiJonai Carrington’s 3-point shot with 1:28 to play in the game as the Dream were clinging to a four-point lead.
Gray pointed to coach Tanisha Wright’s guidance of taking her time rather than rushing.
“Coach T helps me a lot,” said Gray. “I get antsy sometimes …”
Wright noted the Dream’s ability to outscore the Sun in paint 36-32.
“I thought what we did well was we played inside-outside. … The players made plays,” Wright said.
Next up is a meeting with New York (15-3), which is riding a three-game winning streak in league play but lost the last time it took the court. On Tuesday in Elmont, N.Y., the Liberty fell to the Minnesota Lynx 94-89 in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game, which does not count in the league standings.
Breanna Stewart finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds and Sabrina Ionescu notched 23 and 10 respectively, with four assists and two steals. But the Lynx held Jonquel Jones to three points, about 14 below her season average.
“JJ has been playing great, (but) they really took her out of the game, made it hard for her to catch the ball,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said.
Stewart rued New York’s 20 turnovers, among other factors.
“I think that they executed better than us and that’s it, both ends of the floor. We weren’t able to get anything we wanted. (That many turnovers) is never going to win the game.”
–Field Level Media