Atlanta Dream 78, New York Liberty 67

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Atlanta Dream

Atlanta Dream 78, New York Liberty 67

September 19, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Atlanta Dream News Release


Atlanta Dream (15-25) at New York Liberty (32-8)

Game 40| September 19, 2024 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn NY

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final

Atlanta 21 22 22 12 78

New York 15 15 19 18 67

Game Leaders Atlanta New York

Points Howard, Hillmon (13) Stewart (16)

Rebounds Charles (10) Jones (10)

Assists Ionescu (7) Canada (6)

Notes:

The Atlanta Dream started Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Naz Hillmon and Tina Charles for the fifteenth time this season.

The Dream's all-time record against the Liberty moves to 23-38 overall and 12-17 when playing in New York.

Howard, Charles, Hillmon and Gray all finished scoring in double figures. The Dream outscored the Liberty in the paint, 40-18.

Charles put on a historic performance for the Dream, claiming No. 1 on both the WNBA's All-Time rebound list and career double-double list.

Charles first claimed the record for most career rebounds in WNBA history in the first quarter, passing Sylvia Fowles (4,006) with her third rebound of the night.

Charles then took the record for most career double-doubles in WNBA history in the third, passing Sylvia Fowles again after recording her 21st of the season, and 194th of her career.

Howard passed Dream owner Renee Montgomery for No. 3 in franchise history for most 3-pointers in a single season. Howard now owns spots one (99, 2023), two (85, 2022) and three (79, 2024) for most 3-pointers in a season.

Gray also passed Montgomery for No. 5 in franchise history for most 3-pointers in a single season, joining Howard as one of two active Dream players on the list.

Quotes:

Wright on the night overall...

"Great playoff atmosphere. Great opportunity for us. We're thrilled about the opportunity to be in the playoffs. We do not take that for granted. It's not an easy thing to do."

Wright on the upcoming playoff series...

"I don't think anything matters at this point. The regular season is over. Everybody is 0 to 0."

Wright on Ezinne Kalu's debut for the Dream...

"She did a great job of just integrating herself, asking the right questions to be able to get out there. So, glad she got the opportunity to get some minutes, and get a feel for it. She scored her first WNBA buckets."

Charles on her historic night...

"I'm just thankful. I'm thankful to God. Thankful to be in this opportunity, thankful to be alongside this great group of women. I personally know anything that's significantly done, is not done by one person."

Charles on passing Sylvia Fowles...

"I can't take this moment without mentioning Sylvia Fowles, and just what she's meant to my career. The heights that she's reached is the reason why we're having this conversation right now."

Game Summary:

Q1:

Gray kicked off a 9-0 Dream run with a layup midway through the first. Gray connected behind the arc to rack up five of the Dream's first nine points.

Atlanta continued to push its offense momentum as its run grew to 19-8, marking a 19-13 Dream lead with under two minutes to play in the quarter.

Gray headlined the Dream with seven points, going 3-for-4 from the field.

Hillmon and Canada followed with four points apiece.

Charles led the Dream on the boards with six rebounds to begin.

Atlanta's defense totaled three blocks and two steals while holding the Liberty to shooting 31.2% from the field in the first.

The Dream dominated New York in the paint, outscoring its hosts 18-4 beneath the basket. Atlanta also outscored the Liberty in second chance points, 4-0 and outrebounded them 12-8.

Q2:

Two minutes into the quarter, guard Maya Caldwell sunk a 3-pointer after coming off the bench to bring Atlanta's lead to eight points, 26-18 and force a Liberty timeout.

Caldwell's 3-pointer kicked off an 8-0 Dream run.

Howard found Hillmon in the paint for a layup, giving Atlanta its first double-digit lead of the night at 29-18.

The Dream run grew to 14-5 as the first half closed.

Howard and Hillmon combined for 12 of the Dream's 22 second quarter points.

Atlanta shot 52.8% from the field, 25% from 3-point range and 75% from the free throw line in the first half. The Dream outscored the Liberty in the paint 30-8.

Hillmon's 10 first-half points were a team-high. The forward went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.

Q3:

Atlanta opened the third with a 10-0 run.

Howard found Canada a 5-foot hook shot to mark the Dream's largest lead of the game at 20 points, 55-35.

Charles marked her 21st double-double of the season and 194th of her career after grabbing her tenth rebound of the night.

Howard accounted for over half of the Dream third-quarter offense with under three minutes left to play. The guard totaled eight points, one assist and two points created from assists.

The Dream shot 50% from the field and 66.7% from behind the arc in the third.

Q4:

The Dream bench produced all of its fourth quarter points, led by four points from Haley Jones.

Jones went 1-for-1 from the field and 2-for-2 from the three throw line.

Ezinne Kalu recorded the first points of her WNBA career, knocking a jump shot through contact for an and-one.

The Dream shot 80% from the charity stripe in the fourth.

Check out the Atlanta Dream Statistics

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