The Atlanta Dream’s first half shooting woes against the New York Liberty led to a predictable end Sunday at State Farm Arena.
Behind 27.1 percent shooting, the 74-58 loss made three straight for the Dream.
“You’re not going to win a basketball game shooting 27 percent,” head coach Nicki Collen said. “You’re just not. And if you’re going to shoot 27 percent, you have to go get offensive rebounds.”
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The Liberty outmatched the Dream across the board: in assists, steals and turnovers. Off the glass, New York grabbed 43 rebounds to Atlanta’s 30. The Liberty also dominated in the paint, scoring 48 of their 74 points down low. Meanwhile Atlanta managed 18 against New York’s defense.
For the Liberty (5-7), Tina Charles scored a game-high 24 points, while Reshanda Gray grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
Off the Dream bench, Brittney Sykes’ 18-point performance was a team-high. Beyond the 3-point line, she shot 4-5 and grabbed six rebounds with four assists.
While the Dream couldn’t quite gain offensive momentum, especially in the first half, their defense kept them in the game.
“Our defense could’ve won us this game but offensively we just weren’t able to put it together,” Atlanta’s Elizabeth Williams said.
She grabbed eight rebounds, four on each end of the court, and blocked a game-high four shots.
Collen added a new addition to the starting line, putting in rookie Maite Cazorla for her first WNBA start. The coach said she hoped the switch would create more off-ball opportunities for Renee Montgomery.
“She got open shots for Renee,” Collen said. “She created open shots and she always does that. She’s got to learn to balance and be slightly more aggressive.”
The rookie scored just three points, three rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes.
Atlanta opened the game with 0-8 shooting from the field, as the Liberty led 5-0. An 8-2 run from the Dream put them up 8-7. But even behind a 7-1 run to finish the quarter, the Dream’s 31.6 percent shooting left them down three at 19-16.
The Dream’s poor shooting continued into the second quarter as Atlanta shot just 21.1 percent. Meanwhile a 9-0 run from the Liberty, left Atlanta trailing 13 points early. After a dry first four minutes for Atlanta, Sykes gave the Dream their first bucket of the quarter to get back within ten points. New York and Atlanta traded baskets 4-for-5 for the remainder of the quarter, but the Dream’s early slump left them down 11 headed into halftime.
In the first half, Sykes led the Dream in points with ten - eight from the second quarter alone - and Williams added nine points and a team-high five rebounds.
Atlanta rallied in the third, outscoring the Liberty 20-17 behind an eight-point, perfect shooting quarter from Montgomery to stay within 10 points of New York. But the momentum didn’t last. In the fourth, Atlanta went just 3-of-19 to score ten points, its lowest scoring quarter, and finish down 16 points.
“We got some good looks early in the game,” Sykes said. “We just have to step up and make them. Once we start making them, it’s like hot potato. Everyone starts hitting their shots.”
The Dream (2-8) next face the Lynx in Minnesota at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 2.
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