Angel Reese delivered a historic performance with 30 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Atlanta Dream to a 79-65 victory over the Golden State Valkyries on Monday night in San Francisco, tying the best-of-seven WNBA Finals at 1-1. But Reese simply would not have it, foul trouble almost did in the Dream this time.
Reese joined Jonquel Jones (2019) and Breanna Stewart (2020) as only the third player in WNBA history to record at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a Finals game. The star forward shot 10-for-16 from the field while adding three assists and two blocks to anchor Atlanta’s performance. But delivered the big baskets and key defensive stops two days later, finishing 10 for 16 from the floor while dishing out three assists and blocking two shots, she went scoreless in the second half of the opener.
Allisha Gray added 18 points as Atlanta took complete control during the second half, while Jordin Canada recorded a double-double with 13 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. Rhyne Howard set a WNBA Finals record by picking up six steals during the dominant defensive effort.
The victory marks the first Finals game win in franchise history for the Dream, who had gone winless across three previous trips to the championship round. The team managed to secure a series split despite playing in front of a sold-out host crowd of 18,064 fans at Chase Center, known affectionately as “Ballhalla.”
“This environment is tough to play in. Shoutout to the fans. Shoutout to my team, though,” Reese said after the win. “We came and fought. I mean, that Game 1 was tough for us. But we moved on.” She added, “We watched film and saw the things that we messed up on. When I said that they didn’t do anything to mess us up, it was literally just us. And we can see that tonight.”
Atlanta capitalized heavily on defense, generating 24 points off 19 Golden State turnovers—a dramatic increase after managing only eight points off turnovers in the opening matchup. The defeat marked the Valkyries’ first regulation loss since falling 73-70 to Chicago on August 21.
Golden State struggled significantly from the perimeter, finishing 7 for 24 from three-point range. Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 14 points on 3-for-15 shooting, a sharp drop after her 26-point performance in Game 1. “We shot terribly,” point guard Veronica Burton acknowledged after the game. “We missed shots that we make all the time.” Valkyries centre Kiah Stokes noted that Reese “was definitely way more aggressive; she had a great game. We let everyone kind of have their way.”
The series now shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Wednesday. The next two games have been relocated to State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, which seats over 17,000 spectators to accommodate larger crowds compared to the Dream’s regular 3,500-capacity Gateway Center Arena.
