Dream dominate Liberty in third quarter to secure 1-0 series lead in Game 1 of second-round series

Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News on Oct 4, 2026

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The Atlanta Dream defends with hands in the opponent’s jerseys, force turnovers and score fast — really fast.

So fast that the Liberty began the third quarter with a three-point lead and fell behind by as many as 14 points in a blink of an eye in a third period the Dream dominated, 32-15.

“They upped their defensive pressure,” Sabrina Ionescu said postgame. “I think we were driving into driving lanes and not really creating a good outlet for our teammates. We’ll go back, we’ll watch the film, and just understand those points off turnovers really matter, especially on a team that thrives off of it.”

New York had nine turnovers in the third, contributing 16 points for Atlanta in a disastrous quarter that essentially won the Dream Game 1, 92-82, in this second-round series.

Those 16 points off turnovers in the third tied a playoff record in any quarter (WNBA switched to quarters in 2026), per ESPN.

“Live-ball turnovers,” Breanna Stewart reasoned as the difference in the period. “We couldn’t get a basket until pretty late in the third. We know what Atlanta likes to do. Similar situations happened to us at home [during the final two regular season games] when they came out in the third, and they just raced down our throats.

“We need to be better. We need to be more prepared and expect that and change it next game.”

At the end, the Liberty coughed it up 21 times, and the Dream scored 32 points on turnovers, which is a WNBA playoff record.

The Liberty shot 1 for 6 to start that fateful period and fell behind as the Dream rattled off a 20-2 run by applying the most pressure Chris DeMarco’s team faced this postseason.

Pesky guard Jordin Canada and worthy Defensive Player of the Year winner Angel Reese recorded three steals apiece in the quarter that put the Liberty on their heels.

DeWanna Bonner logged extended minutes due to Allisha Gray’s early exit to record three more while Naz Hillmon stole two possessions of her own.

At the end, it was far too many mistakes in a quarter that was compounded with subpar performances early by Stewart and Jonquel Jones. They got back on track for spurts in the second half to combine for 32 points on 10-of-22 shooting.

They’ll look to rebound and steal home-court advantage in Wednesday’s Game 2 at State Farm Arena.

The Liberty managed to cut the deficit to five in the fourth, but Reese trucked through Jones for an and-1 (missed the free throw) to answer back with 3:43 remaining.

And after Ionescu missed a contested corner 3-pointer that would have brought New York to within a possession, Rhyne Howard rebounded, passed to Canada — who sprinted down the court for the umpteenth time — for a layup that put the Liberty’s comeback attempt to bed.

Canada led all scorers with 25 points, four assists and five steals.

Reese and Howard scored 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Ionescu logged 27 points, four rebounds and five assists in the loss.

It was a strong comeback attempt, but not enough as the Liberty dropped a game they looked to have some control in after a first half featuring 14 lead changes.

The league leaders in forced turnovers continued that trend by getting New York to cough up the ball 10 times in the first two periods. However, that generated just five points as New York dug in on transition defense during live-ball turnovers.

That resistance kept them in the game — so did Pauline Astier.

She logged nine points and five rebounds by halftime. And at that point, she outplayed Canada, who has set the tone for the Dream this postseason.

Overall, Dream players shot 1 for 7 with Astier as the primary defender in the first half.

The French rookie then failed to score a field goal (one attempt) in the second half as Canada flipped all momentum.

Dream head coach Karl Smesko trusted Canada to play through foul trouble — she had three by halftime before finishing with five — and saw his team take a hit when Gray exited the game twice due to a left hand injury.

She appeared to initially injure her shooting hand with four minutes remaining in the first. She returned in the second with a wrap on her ring and pinky finger before removing it shortly after shooting an airball.

That proved costly as she re-injured it, which caused her to exit the game for good.

Her absence lightened the Liberty’s load.

And with Astier and Ionescu — 12 points on 60% shooting by halftime — leading the charge, the Liberty led by three after the second period despite Stewart and Jones combining for 2-of-9 shooting.

DeMarco’s squad weathering the storm with the Dream set to be without their leading scorer for the rest of the second half appeared to bode well for the Liberty.

But Bonner (23 points in 30 minutes), the experienced vet that now has 101 WNBA postseason games on her resume (most in history), held down her mostly inexperienced playoff team.

And Canada never let her foot off the gas despite being in foul trouble.

The Liberty will look to even the series in Game 2.

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