The Liberty\u2019s best route to a WNBA second-round series victory over the Atlanta Dream is the same path taken in their first-round series win: stealing home-court advantage.<\/p>\n
The team immediately flipped the advantage in a short best-of-three series by winning Game 1 against the Lynx in Target Center<\/a>. Now the focus shifts to at least splitting Games 1 and 2 at State Farm Arena.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the same mindset as the first round,\u201d Jonquel Jones said. \u201cIt\u2019s the playoffs now, and we\u2019ve said it before. It\u2019s zero-zero. All that other stuff doesn\u2019t matter. The seeding doesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s just about going out there playing with a level of hunger. I think a level of aggression as well when you\u2019re playing against a team like Atlanta, and understanding that rebounding is going to be a huge key.<\/p>\n \u201cYou wipe the slate clean. Whatever you have to do is what you have to do. It\u2019s either you on our side or you in the way, and that\u2019s just what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n The Liberty had no issues taking the fans out of the game in the postseason opening 91-75 win over the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center.<\/p>\n And in the team\u2019s title-winning season under previous head coach Sandy Brondello, the team secured road wins in the semifinals in Las Vegas and in the finals against Minnesota.<\/p>\n The road Game 3 win reigns supreme in Liberty lore after Sabrina Ionescu drained a 28-foot game-winning dagger.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like we\u2019ve done really well on the road,\u201d Ionescu said. \u201cI think it\u2019s understanding the composure you have to have, and not letting another fan base really dictate when another team goes on a run. And I think through experience, you kind of realize how to block out the noise and just play 40 minutes of basketball. I feel like we\u2019re really equipped to go on the road and get wins.\u201d<\/p>\n CONTAINING THE DREAM<\/p>\n