Tina Charles, the all-time scoring leader for the New York Liberty, is on the verge of becoming the WNBA’s all-time leader in double-doubles.
Five years after her final game for the Liberty, Charles attempts to reach the milestone and help the Atlanta Dream clinch the final playoff spot in Thursday’s visit to New York.
The Dream (14-25) hold the No. 8 seed and enter their regular-season finale one game ahead of the Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky. A win gets them into the postseason but a loss brings tiebreakers into play.
If the Dream lose, they will be eliminated if Washington and Chicago both win. With a loss along with a Chicago loss and a Washington win, Atlanta gets into the postseason because of its better record versus opponents with at least a .500 record.
Atlanta moved to the cusp of clinching with Tuesday’s 86-70 home win over Chicago. Charles finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds for her 20th double-double this season and the 193rd of her career, tying Sylvia Fowles for the most in league history.
“That’s all we’ve been talking about is trying to control our own destiny and picking up wins when we needed to,” Charles said. “In the second half of the season (we weren’t) holding our heads low about injuries or anything that happened in the first half of the season. We’re just locking in on who we need to be out there on the court.”
The Liberty (32-7) are 3-0 against the Dream this season and head into the final game with the league’s top spot secured after Tuesday’s 87-71 win at Washington.
Breanna Stewart totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead five players in double figures against the Mystics. The Liberty led by 11 after the first quarter and by as many 22.
“(The No. 1 seed) was one of our goals. We set out trying to get that home court advantage,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said. “We know it’s going to be extremely hard, but getting home court … we want to play in front of our fans as much as we can.”
–Field Level Media
