The Dream Continues For Canada And Atlanta
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By: Shara Talia Taylor
The New York Liberty championship hopes were swept away in Game 3 of the WNBA Semifinals with an 85-83 loss to the Atlanta Dream, Oct. 9 at the Barclays Center.
It was an aggressive and competitive series with teams equally matched in ability, even going to overtime in Game 2, but the Liberty were outplayed and were swept 3-0 in the series. The Liberty played their best basketball in the third quarter of game 3, out-scoring the Dream 29-22, and were ahead going into the fourth, however they fell behind and did not regain a lead.
“Atlanta is a tough team and obviously, tons of credit to them for really making it tough for us every single night and wish them the best in the finals,” Breanna Stewart said.
Stewart and Jonquel Jones led the Liberty with the game highs, 26-points each. Stewart led the team with six assists and Jones had game highs of 14 total rebounds and three blocked shots.
“We came into this game, obviously not looking too far ahead, but fully expecting to be able to force it to (game) 5 and be back in Atlanta playing for the opportunity to go back to the finals,” she said. “I think we know how talented we are and for us every year is about being able to play for and ultimately win a championship and we fell short this year.”
Jones scored the first points of the game, a put back layup. New York then fell behind and trailed the majority of the first half of the game, albeit a 3-pointer from Jones tied the score at 12. They trailed 25-18 at the end of the first quarter and 44-39 at the end of the second.
The Liberty returned from halftime refreshed for the third quarter. It was their best quarter for scoring against Atlanta in the series, yielding a seven point differentiation, as they out-scored the Dream 29-22. They led 68-66 going into the fourth.
“We got a lot of good looks,” Stewart said about the fourth quarter. “I missed like a bunny to tie the game, which really sucks.”
Stewart missed a shot that would have tied the score at 83 when less than 12 seconds remained in the game. Sabrina Ionescu then caused a foul sending DeWanna Bonner to the foul line, where she made two free throws. Ionescu next missed a 3-pointer when New York had the ball, but Stewart made a putback layup to bring the score to 85-83 as the buzzer sounded and the game ended.
“We still continued to be connected with one another, knowing that we had good shots on the rim, trying to get rebounds and get out,” Stewart said. “We talk about the turnovers and we handled that pretty well today.”
Turnovers were a problem for the Liberty in the series, but were successfully reduced. New York committed 21 total in Game 1, 17 total in Game 2 and 11 total in Game 3.
“They just play a different brand of basketball with some of their switchability on the ball with their physicality,” said New York Liberty Head Coach Chris DeMarco about what made Atlanta a difficult matchup. “I thought our players matched it if not exceeded it at times and end of the day some shots go in, some don’t and you’re battling for loose balls and like where’s the whistle going. All that stuff matters.”
He also attributed Atlanta’s success to Jordin Canada. “Canada was racing us before we could get our shell defense so she obviously hurt us in the paint,” he said about what stopped the team from winning the game.
Canada was successful getting her team the ball and led the Dream with 11 assists. Angel Reese led the team with 22 points, Rhyne Howard added 21 and Canada added 19.
Ionescu felt the challenge started earlier and stressed the he importance of the team positioning itself in seeding.
“Starting on the road is hard,” Ionescu said when asked about missing the WNBA Finals for the second year. “I think for us the mission and goal is going to stay the same, year in and year out and obviously, that’s continuing to represent this organization and fight for New York’s second championship.”
Ionescu led New York with four 3-pointers and added 12 points and three assists.
“We’re really excited about it, and I’m really proud of the way that our players competed, pulled together and held on to win,” said Dream Coach Karl Smesko.
The New York Liberty’s season concluded and the Atlanta Dream moved on to play the Golden State Valkyries in the 2026 WNBA Finals.
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