Angel Reese scored 23 points, and Naz Hillmon hit the go-ahead layup with 20.8 seconds left in overtime as the Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 101-98 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the WNBA semifinals. Reese scored six of her team's 13 overtime points, including two free throws with 4.3 seconds left after Sabrina Ionescu overthrew a pass. Atlanta is now one win away from its first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013.
Jordin Canada also scored 23 points and had eight assists for the Dream, who won Game 1 92-82. Breanna Stewart scored 35 points, including 25 in the first half, but missed a desperation attempt on the final play after the Liberty did not use their reset to advance the ball. Stewart said officials told them they had no reset left. Earlier, with New York trailing 86-80 in regulation, Ionescu cut the deficit with a deep 3-pointer. An Atlanta shot clock violation opened the door for the Liberty, and Stewart hit a layup in traffic to make it 86-85.
After New York fouled, Reese knocked down both free throws to give the Dream an 88-85 edge with 14.5 seconds left. Marine Fauthoux hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 10.3 seconds to go, and Rhyne Howard's midrange floater rimmed out at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime. Atlanta scored the first five points of overtime, New York answered with eight, and the lead changed hands several times before Hillmon's layup gave the Dream the lead for good.
The Dream won without leading scorer Allisha Gray, who missed the game with a left hand injury. Rookie Izzy Borlase filled in and scored 11 points off the bench. Game 3 is set for Friday in New York.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing