ATLANTA — Shameka Christon scored 24 points and Janel McCarville pitched in 22 points and had 10 rebounds to lead New York to a 86-76 win over Atlanta on Sunday.

Christon benefited from a series of crisp screens, for which she was more than happy to give credit to coach Pat Coyle.

"She definitely has a great system for the guards," Christon said. "I knew I had to be more productive, so that’s pretty much been my focus."

Catherine Kraayeveld hit three free-throws with 3:45 left in the game to put New York (15-10) up for good.

The Dream (3-24), which has the worst record in the league, went toe-to-toe with the Liberty, who began the day in third place in the Eastern Conference.

"I remember last time we came down here," Christon said, "and they almost got their first win on us. We know this is a ball club that plays really hard and we respect that."

New York led by a mere point at the end of each of the first three quarters and took a 44-43 lead into the half.

Betty Lennox led Atlanta with 18 points, including three free-throws with 2:35 left to play.

"We played hard," said Lennox, who was not in the starting lineup for the first time in 27 games. "We didn’t come out with a win. We know what we need to work on at the break. I think everybody needs (the Olympic) break mentally, to prepare for the second half."

Ivory Latta scored 11 points in 11 minutes in the first half for the Dream and also had four assists and four rebounds.

The Liberty go into the Olympic break having won six of their last seven games. The Dream have lost five straight.