Charles has 18 and 18, Liberty holds off Wings 82-81

Sep 3, 2017, 11:12 pm

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Tina Charles had 18 points and 18 rebounds to help New York clinch the third seed in the playoffs with an 82-81 win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday and extend the Liberty's winning streak to 10 games.

The Liberty (22-12) matched the franchise record for longest winning streak and have a first-round bye. The seventh-seeded Wings (16-18) play at No. 6 Washington in a one-game playoff on Wednesday.

Trailing 82-79 after a Charles putback with 22.1 seconds to play, the Wings missed, but forced a turnover and Aerial Powers scored on a putback with 3.7 seconds left. When the Liberty inbounded the ball in the frontcourt after a timeout, they had a backcourt violation, giving Dallas one last shot. Skylar Diggins-Smith's attempt from the 3-point line bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

There were 12 ties and 10 lead changes in the game.

Epiphanny Prince led New York with 20 points.

Glory Johnson led the Wings with 17 points, Diggins-Smith had 16 and Powers 14.