Liberty rally, but fall in overtime to Atlanta

The Liberty did put up a fight — they came back from deficit after deficit against a formidable Dream team. They even managed a fourth-quarter lead, though it was short-lived. But when they needed it the most, the defense that had buoyed them abandoned them. And Courtney Williams made them pay.

Williams hit back-to-back three-pointers — both of them wide open, and the latter with 1.6 seconds left in overtime — as the Dream turned aside the Liberty, 90-87, at Barclays Center Saturday.

Williams’ 24-foot jumper with 34.7 second left previously tied the score at 87. The Liberty had just gone up by three on Michaela Onyenwere’s three.

With time expiring, the Liberty inbounded the ball to Sabrina Ionescu, whose game-tying attempt went far wide.

"There was a defensive scheme we put in," coach Walt Hopkins said tersely about Williams’ game-winner. "That’s all I’m going to say about that."

He did, though, have kind words for the team’s resilience after they trailed by as many as 13 midway through the second quarter, and managed to tie the score seven times in regulation.

"This group just really fights and finds ways to stay in games," Hopkins said. "That was quite a performance from Atlanta in terms of their shooting . . . But our toughness and our will Is something to really be excited about."

The Dream shot 46% percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Liberty, 45-36, with 10 offensive boards. The Liberty turned the ball over 21 times. They had entered the game averaging 15.3 turnovers, fifth most in the WNBA, while the Dream, with its physical guards, have induced 15.5 turnovers per game, most in the league.

Williams led all scorers with 31 points, while Onyenwere led the Liberty with 29 points. The Dream were able to sometimes double- and triple- team one of the biggest threats in Ionescu, who was held scoreless in the first half and ended up with six points.

"I think they did a good job switching," Sami Whitcomb said of Ionescu’s final three-point attempt. "Unfortunately, we needed a three, so it’s not as simple as they switch, we throw it to the big person with maybe someone smaller under the basket. We needed a three so it’s really tough when there’s not a lot of space around the three-point line when they’re switching and there’s the sideline as well, which works for another defender. It was just a tough spot to end it."

The Dream ended the first quarter on an 18-4 run and entered the second with the Liberty down 28-17. They led by 13 midway through the second quarter before the Liberty pulled to within 39-34, mostly courtesy of Onyenwere and a fierce attack.

SEE PHOTOSGame photos: Liberty vs. Atlanta

The Liberty eventually tied the score twice in the second quarter, on Onyenwere’s trey with 40 seconds to go and Whitcomb’s layup seconds later, but the Dream scored the next four to go up 49-45.

The Liberty, which hadn’t had a lead since 4:02 of the first quarter, were finally able to get ahead on Betnijah Laney’s free throws with 46.3 left in regulation, which gave them an 81-80 advantage. Whitcomb added another free throw, but, with 11 seconds left, the Dream’s Elizabeth Williams attempted a layup, was denied by Kylee Shook, but then gathered the offensive rebound and the putback to send it to overtime.

"I think the fact that we were able to fight back in that one, it feels a bit like we gave it away," Whitcomb said. "Credit to them, [Courtney Williams] had a tough shot to hit and hit some tough shots prior to that but I think we would probably look more to where we let ourselves down defensively … We’re definitely disappointed with this one."

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.