No one said it would be easy.
But the Dream clawed and scratched their way back into Thursday night’s game against the New York Liberty to earn their third win of the season, 87-81. The Dream trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half.
Erika de Souza of the Dream tied a career-high in points with 27. With 25 points, teammate Lindsey Harding added a season-high of her own.
It wouldn’t be a repeat of the teams’ most recent meeting, in which the Dream (3-7) cruised to a 21-point road victory, leading by 12 at halftime on their way to their first win of the season.
This game had a different feel from the start.
The Liberty (4-5) raced to a 17-7 lead midway through the first quarter. The Dream got into foul trouble early, letting New York reach the bonus with three minutes left in the first quarter.
The Dream cut the Liberty’s lead to eight by the quarter’s end with help from Erika de Souza. But Cappie Pondexter opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, extending the New York advantage to 11.
Pondexter finished the game with a team-high 24 points.
The Dream and the Liberty traded baskets throughout the second quarter, with New York taking a 13-point lead before the Dream cut it to single digits.
Harding scored on back-to-back layups, jump-starting a 14-4 run by the Dream to cut the lead to three, at 38-35, with two minutes remaining in the half. Angel McCoughtry scored four of her seven points during the run, while de Souza added five of her own.
New York held a 44-37 halftime lead.
But the Dream weren’t ready to go down without a fight. They responded with a 17-5 run, featuring scoring by six Dream players. With 29.4 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Armintie Price gave the Dream their first lead of the game since they held a 2-0 advantage. But when time expired in the third quarter, New York led 63-62.
With 7:27 remaining in the game, Price gave the Dream a one-point lead again, scoring on a driving layup. Price scored eight points on the night. Alison Bales gave the Dream a four-point advantage with just under four minutes remaining.
From that point on, it was all Atlanta.
Harding iced the game for the Dream with a pull-up jumper to give them an 81-76 lead with 2:39 left. An additional basket by de Souza and four more points by Harding cemented Atlanta’s victory.
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