Dream Surge Past Liberty while Copper's Late Heroics Sink Wings in Monday WNBA Action

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Monday night’s two-game WNBA slate saw the Atlanta Dream cruise to victory and all but lock down the 4-spot for home-court advantage over the 5-seed. In Phoenix, what many may have thought would be an easy outing turned into a playoff positioning loss for the Dallas Wings.

Let’s take a look at these two games and how they reshaped the playoff picture.

Atlanta Dream 95, New York Liberty 84

The Atlanta Dream (29–14) continued their late-season push toward a top-four seed, outworking the New York Liberty (26–17) 95–84 at Barclays Center behind balanced scoring and superior interior physical play.

Atlanta took control in the second half by disrupting New York’s perimeter flow, forcing 11 turnover points and dominating inside the paint. Point guard Jordin Canada orchestrated the attack with 19 points and nine assists, while forward Angel Reese delivered another double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. New York’s Breanna Stewart poured in a game-high 27 points and 14 rebounds, but the Liberty struggled to find secondary scoring consistency, shooting just 42.3% from the field and 24.1% from three-point range.

Key Team Stats: Atlanta shot 47.8% (32-of-67) from the floor and outscored New York 23-17 in free throw attempts. New York held a slight 40–32 rebounding edge.
Playoff Implications: The victory moves Atlanta closer to locking up the No. 4 seed and first-round home-court hosting rights. For New York, the loss prevents them from breaking out of a congested multi-team logjam in the middle of the standings, leaving them tied with Dallas at 26–17 with one game remaining.

Phoenix Mercury 87, Dallas Wings 86

Most games in Phoenix Mercury history with 30+ points after tonight:

1. Diana Taurasi – 54
2. Kahleah Copper – 17
3. Brittney Griner – 16

pic.twitter.com/dNfvFZM2OH

— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) September 22, 2026

At Footprint Center, Kahleah Copper delivered a signature closing performance, scoring 16 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Phoenix Mercury (16–27) to an 87–86 comeback victory over the Dallas Wings (26–17).

Trailing 74–63 early in the final quarter, Phoenix systematically erased the deficit behind Copper’s relentless drives. After Dallas star Paige Bueckers hit a clutch three-pointer to give the Wings an 84–81 lead with 32.6 seconds remaining, Copper sank two free throws to pull Phoenix within one. Following a controversial call reversal and jump ball, Alyssa Thomas found Copper cutting along the baseline for a go-ahead layup with 2.4 seconds left. Bueckers’ contested three-point attempt at the buzzer missed the rim.

Thomas posted her fifth triple-double of the season with 15 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds for Phoenix. Bueckers finished with 30 points and seven assists for Dallas, setting a single-season franchise scoring record with 853 points. Dallas forward Jessica Shepard dominated the glass with 17 points and 19 rebounds.

Key Team Stats: Phoenix scored 26 points in the fourth quarter, capitalizing on Dallas’s 14-of-21 (66.7%) shooting from the free-throw line. Dallas built an early 14-point advantage but allowed 26 points off secondary chances.
Playoff Implications: The loss snapped Dallas’s six-game winning streak, damaging their bid to secure a top-six seed. The Wings (26–17) drop into a tie with New York, trailing the sixth-place Washington Mystics (26–16) by a half-game as the regular season enters its final 48 hours.