On paper, the No. 4-seed Atlanta Dream cruised to a Game 1 win over the No. 8-seed New York Liberty, 92-82, in front of a sold-out home crowd at State Farm Arena.
The game was anything but a smooth ride for Atlanta.
They lost Allisha Gray, who left the game twice with a left hand injury. With Gray, the team’s leading scorer, out, Atlanta needed someone to step up.
Enter DeWanna Bonner.
The 17-year veteran and two-time champion has seen and done it all. So while she was an unexpected hero, she rose to the occasion—and then some.
A true team player will do whatever it takes to galvanize the group. Sometimes that means calling players out. In other instances, a player has to overproduce to get their team the win.
Bonner did both. As Jordin Canada explained after the game:
DB [DeWanna Bonner] got into us at halftime.
We knew we didn’t play our best in the first half. We gave up a lot of defensive assignments: not aggressive enough on offense and defense.
After her halftime pep talk, the Dream came out roaring in the third quarter. They went on a 17-2 run and turned a close contest into a mostly comfortable win.
Bonner fingerprints were all over the victory.
She scored 23 of Atlanta’s 27 bench points. Bonner also shot 50 percent from deep, along with garbbing nine rebounds. The victory wasn’t just a huge win for the Dream; it put them just two victories away from a WNBA Finals appearance.
This proved the organization was smart to bring in Bonner, whom the Mercury bought out in August. Bonner wanted an opportunity to compete for a championship, and now she’s put herself in a position to do just that.
Dream head coach Karl Smekso likewise gushed over the veteran’s impact:
I just thought she was exactly what we needed.
Not just because she’s a veteran presence and all the experience. Because she still plays like she did tonight. That was a huge performance, and when we needed a play, she made it.
Bonner didn’t waste time making her presence felt during Sunday’s game. She was magnificent in the opening quarter. Bonner started her scoring off by drilling a corner 3. Then, she pump-faked Breanna Stewart and knocked down a tough mid-range bank shot.
Her offensive burst was a theme throughout the contest. When a basket was needed, she came off a curl, squared up and drilled the jumper. If the look wasn’t good, she’d swing the ball around and reset, or drive into the paint to score or kick it back out to the perimeter.
Bonner’s play was great and her voice in the locker room fierce, but perhaps most importantly, her energy was contagious. This game was tight at the half and midway through the fourth. With a key player hurt, the conditions could’ve devastated the Dream.
But Bonner didn’t allow that to happen. She kept herself, her teammates and all the fans on 10. And instead of a tough loss, they earned an inspiring win.
There’s still a lot to be figured out.
Gray’s injury status will be a huge factor in Game 2 and the rest of the series. And New York likely believes they can play better and will have adjustments ready to implement.
Still, at this point in the year, earn your wins and figure the rest out later. Atlanta is up 1-0 and can take a commanding 2-0 lead on Wednesday. As Smesko put it, “It’s great to be up 1-0, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Thanks to Bonner’s efforts, Game 1 went Atlanta’s way, and the dream of a Finals appearance is one win closer.
