Earlier in this postseason, New York became the first No. 8 seed in WNBA history to knock off a No. 1 (Minnesota).
Now, the Liberty are aiming to become the first team in league history to win a best-of-five series after falling behind 2-0.
That quest begins Friday night, as the Liberty host the Atlanta Dream. Game 4, if needed, will be in New York on Sunday afternoon. Atlanta will host Game 5 on Wednesday if the series gets that far.
“We’re not focused on winning three games,” Liberty forward Breanna Stewart said. “We’re focused on winning one game, and that starts on Friday.”
However, beating Atlanta even once seems like a monumental task for New York, which hasn’t defeated the Dream since June 11. Since that 104-90 victory, the Liberty have lost four consecutive games to Atlanta, including the final two games of the regular season.
On Wednesday, the Dream prevailed 101-98 in overtime. New York lost despite shooting 54.7% from the field compared with Atlanta’s 40.5%.
The Dream won with defense and hustle, scoring 28 points off 17 Liberty turnovers. New York scored just 10 points off nine Atlanta turnovers.
Atlanta also won the battle for offensive rebounds, 11-5.
Through two games, Atlanta has outscored New York 60-24 in points off turnovers.
Another factor in this series is the health of Dream standout guard Allisha Gray, who missed Game 2 due to a left hand injury involving her ring finger. She is considered day-to-day.
“(Gray) is one of the best players in the league — an exceptional scorer and defender,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said. “But it’s not about what you don’t have. It’s about how the players you do have execute the game plan.”
With Gray sidelined Wednesday, reserves Isobel Borlase and Te-Hina Paopao provided productive minutes. Borlase scored 11 points in 14 minutes, including 3-of-5 on 3-pointers. Paopao added four points in 10 minutes, including 1-for-1 from deep.
That bench help meshed well with all five Dream starters scoring in double figures, including 23 points each from Angel Reese and Jordin Canada.
For the Liberty, Stewart led the way in Game 2, scoring 25 of her game-high 35 points in the first half. She also had a game-high 11 rebounds and six assists.
Jonquel Jones added 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, but she committed a game-high six turnovers.
The Liberty received a career-high 20 points off the bench from Marine Fauthoux, but starters Sabrina Ionescu, Leonie Fiebich and Pauline Astier combined to score just 19 points.
–Field Level Media
