COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Jordin Canada delivered when it mattered most.
After Chicago erased a three-point deficit with just 5.5 seconds remaining, Canada drove to the basket and converted the game-winning layup with one second left, lifting the Atlanta Dream to a thrilling 93-91 victory over the Chicago Sky on Sunday afternoon.
The Dream appeared poised to close out the game after Allisha Gray calmly knocked down two free throws with 9.5 seconds remaining to give Atlanta a 91-88 advantage. But the Sky answered immediately when Sydney Taylor buried a deep 29-foot three-pointer off a Courtney Vandersloot assist to tie the game at 91-91.
Atlanta never panicked.
Following a timeout, Brionna Jones patiently waited for the defense to take away the first option before finding Canada, who attacked the lane and finished the winning basket with one second left.
When asked what the moment meant to her Canada said, “Yeah, I’m just happy we got the win. Like Lish said, now we can go into the break enjoying it. And just hopefully this is the turning point of the 2nd half of us, you know, coming out with a lot of energy, cleaning things up, but definitely happy we got the win, was not trying to go for another 5 minutes, that’s for sure. So I’m glad we were able to finish with a W.”
Head coach Karl Smesko credited both the design of the play and his team’s poise in the biggest moment.
“Option one was covered well,” Smesko said. “Option two was to get it back to JC to go downhill. Bri didn’t force a pass to somebody that wasn’t open. She had the patience to wait, got it to JC, and JC did the rest. Great finish and a great way to win the game.”
Gray carried Atlanta offensively with a season-high 29 points, repeatedly attacking the basket late in the fourth quarter and delivering in clutch moments, including the pair of free throws that briefly gave the Dream a three-point cushion.
“I thought today was more Lish refusing to lose,” Smesko said. “She wasn’t afraid to make the play. She got to the free-throw line, made big baskets for us down the stretch and came up huge.”
Atlanta also received a major lift from rookie center Medina Okot, who scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting while providing valuable minutes late in the fourth quarter after Brionna Jones was limited because of her workload.
“I thought she was great down the stretch,” Smesko said. “She saved her best minutes for the end of the game. She was a big reason why we were able to win today.”
Jones returned for the final defensive possession and the last offensive play despite playing limited minutes. Smesko praised the veteran’s basketball IQ after she immediately made the correct read on the game-winning sequence.
“She’s such a smart player,” he said. “She made the right decision and executed the play perfectly.”
The Dream also overcame a tense moment late in the game when Angel Reese appeared to suffer an injury and left the floor in visible discomfort. Smesko said the decision to keep Reese out for the closing possessions was made with the player’s long-term health in mind.
“She wanted to go back out there because she’s competitive and wants to win,” Smesko said. “But she looked like she was in a lot of pain, and I just didn’t feel comfortable putting someone back out there in that situation.”
Even after Taylor’s game-tying three, Smesko said his team remained composed.
“There was enough time to execute and win,” he said. “The players knew we had made a mistake defensively, but they regrouped. They stayed calm, paid attention to what we wanted to run, and executed it as well as it could be executed.”
Atlanta’s bench also played a significant role in the victory. Okot’s fourth-quarter minutes proved invaluable, while Izzy Borlase continued her recent stretch of productive play and Jaylyn Sherrod supplied energetic minutes in reserve.
With the victory, the Dream entered the All-Star break having won four of their last five games. Smesko said the team’s focus over the break will be refining details and becoming the best version of itself for the season’s final stretch.
“I think we have a really good team,” Smesko said. “If we become the best version of the Atlanta Dream that we can be, I think just about anything is possible.”
Key Stats
- Final: Atlanta Dream 93, Chicago Sky 91
- Game-winning basket: Jordin Canada layup with 1.0 second remaining.
- Allisha Gray: Season-high 29 points, including two clutch free throws with 9.5 seconds left.
- Medina Okot: 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting while providing critical fourth-quarter minutes.
- Closing sequence: Chicago tied the game on Sydney Taylor’s 29-foot three-pointer with 5.5 seconds left before Canada answered on the Dream’s final possession.
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