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Sandy Brondello was excited for Tuesday night’s game against the Dream.
With the Liberty coming off their first loss of the season, the coach was looking forward to seeing how her team responded against one of the WNBA’s hottest teams.
“When you lose, it really shows the character of the team and how they will respond,” Brondello said beforehand. “This team, they have high character. So excited to see how we come out tonight.”
But if you really want to understand the character of this team, look no further than the final 14 minutes of an 86-81 win.
The Liberty seemed down and out of Tuesday’s game with 3:56 left in the third quarter.
The Dream exploded on a 15-3 run to take a 17-point lead, and the Liberty looked rather uninspired in the third quarter.
But maybe the lesson to be learned here is to never count out the defending champions.
Sabrina Ionescu scored 11 points to help cut the Dream’s lead to eight to start the fourth quarter.
Ionescu’s impressive run awakened a sleeping beast.
The energy shifted inside Barclays Center.
The Liberty were more locked in, more aggressive.
They might have been late to the party, but the Liberty took over the dance floor to squeeze out a hard-fought win, outscoring Atlanta 26-13 in the fourth.
Ionescu had 34 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Breanna Stewart added 23 points, and Jonquel Jones — in her return after missing two games with an ankle injury — registered her sixth double-double this season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Liberty’s schedule doesn’t lighten up any time soon.
They will host the Mercury on Thursday before embarking on a lengthy cross-country trip with stops in Seattle, San Francisco, Phoenix and Atlanta.
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