The Liberty’s hopes of evening up the WNBA semifinals just got a boost.
Dream leading scorer Allisha Gray was ruled out for Wednesday night’s Game 2 due to a left hand injury, head coach Karl Smesko said at Tuesday’s practice.
Gray appeared to injure the pinkie and ring fingers on her shooting hand on a deflection in the first quarter of the Dream’s 92-82 win over the Liberty in Game 1 on Sunday.
The four-time All-Star guard exited for good after attempting to re-enter the game in the second quarter, and finished with seven points in 11 minutes.
“Knowing that Allisha will be out, it hurts. It sucks,” Dream forward Naz Hillmon said. “I know how much she would want to be on the floor with us. We know how much we use her offensively and defensively. The next-woman-up mentality is for everybody, not just the players coming off the bench or whoever’s going to fill in her role.
“Nobody’s going to be able to do what Allisha Gray does. We all know that. But like you said, we can all put a little bit more on our plate, and that’s what our mentality is.”
Dream veteran DeWanna Bonner took up Gray’s minutes in Game 1 and exploded for 23 points. Bonner is likely to move into the starting lineup in Gray’s absence.
The Liberty now have improved chances of taking a game in Atlanta, which would put them in position to claim the series back on their home floor for two games in Brooklyn.
The Dream said Gray will be considered “day-to-day” following Game 2.
— Additional reporting by Madeline Kenney
