photo credit / Sky Sports – (Tiffany Hayes)
In the Big Apple, the Barclay Center this evening. Atlanta looking to get some sweet revenge from their last meeting against the Liberty. Atlanta steals thunder from New York! The Dream has much to cheer about with Tiffany Hayes joining them in the lineup from a long stretch of being out with injury. The 1st quarter was a shoot out between Hayes and Liberty’s Johannes. Both shooting from the ark. Rhyne Howard nails a three in the 1st quarter with 4 minutes left in the quarter. New York’s Johannes answers on the other end with a dagger, Liberty leading 10-8. Liberty’s Michaela Onyenwere nails a three and gives New York the lead 18-13. At the start of the 2nd quarter, Dreams Coach wright has all of her starters working the offense. Cheyenne Parker with a shot off the glass, always being sufficient in the paint. Monique Billings with a huge rebound and follow up shot afterwards, letting her presence be known on the court. Atlanta is on a 6-0 run picking up a head of steam leading 19-18. Both teams are extremely physical on the defensive end. It’s been an up and down type of scoring drive in the 2nd. Atlanta finishes strong toward the end of the quarter. They have their largest lead of the game 37-29. Free throws 9-9, dropping 28 points in the quarter.
Going into the 3rd, Kristy Wallace getting it done with 10 points off the bench. Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu come out strong on a scoring drive with 10 points, 8 rebounds at the start of the quarter. The Dream are o-5 at the beginning of the 3rd. Dreams Mo Billings working on the defensive end creating turnovers for the Liberty with a total of 13. Atlanta’s defense is smothering New York allowing them to not get any good looks at the basket. The Dream are clearly the aggressor in the 3rd. They are on a 6-0 run leading by 8 points. Kia Vaughn knocks down a shot from the perimeter bringing the score to a double digit lead. Atlanta is playing with a sense of hunger coming off a 3-game losing streak. Liberty manage to chip away at the lead bringing it to 63-60. Liberty goes on a whopping 17-0 run. Stefanie Dolson becomes the team’s clutch player with 12 points in the quarter. With seconds left in the game, the score is 77-76. Liberty makes their two free throws, Atlanta has 2 seconds to tie the game. Dreams Erica Wheeler drains a cold-blooded three from downtown just before the buzzer sending the game into overtime. After the end of regulation, it was all Tiffany Hayes! She was 3-5 form the ark, 18 points. She made her penetrations easy in overtime carrying her team to victory. Atlanta steals thunder from New York. (92-81 win)
