NEW YORK — It took until the final day of the 2024 WNBA season for the playoff bracket to be settled, but the Atlanta Dream claimed the eighth and final postseason spot on Thursday night with a 78-67 over the New York Liberty.
Atlanta entered the evening needing a win to clinch its second consecutive playoff berth. While New York had clinched the No. 1 overall seed on Tuesday night, the Liberty still played a regular rotation throughout the first half and began the third quarter with four of their usual starters still in action.
Dream center Tina Charles finished the victory with 10 points and 10 rebounds, setting new WNBA career records for rebounds and double-doubles in the game. She passed Sylvia Fowles’ 4,006 rebound mark just over three minutes in the first quarter and Fowles’ 193 double-double mark midway through the third quarter. Charles, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft by the Connecticut Sun, is the lone player in WNBA history ever to record more than 4,000 rebounds and 7,000 career points.
Dream wing Rhyne Howard and forward Naz Hillmon led Atlanta with 13 points apiece.
Having won and made consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since 2013-14, the Dream won’t have to go far. They packed for a week-long trip to New York and will face the…
