Canada's big day, team defense
carries Dream to 92-82 win over Liberty in WNBA semifinals
[October 05, 2026]
By ALAN COLE
ATLANTA (AP) — Jordin Canada scored 20 of her 25 points in the
second half and had five steals to help the Atlanta Dream beat the
New York Liberty 92-82 on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-five WNBA
semifinals series.
DeWanna Bonner added 23 points and helped fill the void when Allisha
Gray went down with a left hand injury in the second quarter.
Atlanta once again played stellar defense, scoring 32 points off 21
forced turnovers, including 16 in a dominant third quarter. The 32
points off turnovers tied an all-time WNBA playoff record.
“Everybody stepped up, and that's what we need,” Canada said. “Next
man up mentality. I just tried to do what I do best. I tried to be
aggressive, find my shots and take my shots with confidence.”
Gray's injury was the key moment of a very even first half. Neither
team led by more than six points in a half that had 14 lead changes.
New York went into the locker room with a slim 40-37 advantage. But
Atlanta outscored New York 32-15 in the third quarter, seizing
control with relentless defensive pressure.
“We knew we didn't play our best in the first half,” Canada said.
“We gave up a lot of defensive assignments, we weren't playing up to
our schemes and we just weren't being aggressive enough on the
offensive end.”
Angel Reese and Canada had three steals apiece in the third, keying
a 13-3 run to start the half which gave Atlanta a lead it never
surrendered. Seven different New York players recorded at least one
third quarter turnover, and the team shot just 4 of 14 from the
floor in a stretch that created a margin too big to overcome.
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Atlanta Dream forward DeWanna Bonner (24) drives to the basket
against New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, right, during the
first half of Game 1 of the WNBA basketball semifinals Sunday, Oct.
4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
“Live ball turnovers," Liberty star Breanna Stewart
said made the difference. “We couldn't get a basket until pretty
late in the third. We know what Atlanta likes to do. Similar
situation to what happened to us at home (in last week's regular
season match-up) where they just came out and raced it down our
throats. We need to be better.”
New York trimmed a 16-point deficit down to five in the closing
minutes, but a clutch 3-pointer by Canada just before the shot clock
buzzer followed by another transition layup off a stop stemmed the
tide. Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty with 27 points and Stewart
added 19.
The win marked Atlanta's first victory in the semifinal round since
2018, and left it as the only undefeated team remaining in the
postseason. The Dream are also on an eight-game winning streak
dating back to the regular season.
“I thought we had a great third quarter,” Dream head coach Karl
Smesko said. “They made a run at us, but we were just able to make
enough plays down the stretch to close them out.”
Game 2 of the series is Wednesday in Atlanta.
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