Liberty top Dream in battle for WNBA basement

Sep 8, 2019, 11:11 pm

ATLANTA -- Tina Charles scored 14 points, Amanda Zahui B added a double-double and the New York Liberty topped the Atlanta Dream 71-63 in a battle between the bottom two teams on Sunday, the last day of the WNBA season.

The Liberty (10-24) had an 18-11 advantage in the third quarter to stretch a 44-38 halftime lead to 63-49 and was never seriously challenged by the Dream (8-26).

Zahui B had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Charles had eight rebounds and closed the season with 156 career double-doubles, one behind Lisa Leslie, who is second on the WNBA all-time list.

Brittney Sykes had 12 points for the Dream and Jessica Breland had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Atlanta gave a ceremonial start to injured forward Angel McCoughtry, who has been sidelined for the season while recovering from a knee injury she suffered last year. They took her out right after the tip.

A loss in their last game assured the Liberty of having the best odds in the WNBA draft lottery and then they get to end their season with a win to avoid finishing last. The lottery is weighted on a rolling two-year record.

With 16 assists, New York broke its franchise record with 663, one more than last season.