Angel Reese delivered 30 points and 16 rebounds on Monday night to lead the Atlanta Dream past the Golden State Valkyries. The 79-65 victory in San Francisco leveled the WNBA Finals at one game apiece.
Allisha Gray contributed 18 points as the Dream took control during the second half. This marked the franchise’s first victory in the WNBA Finals after the team previously went winless across three prior trips.
Rhyne Howard set a Finals record with six steals. Jordin Canada added 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Dream salvaged a split in front of the crowd at Chase Center.
"This environment is tough to play in, shoutout to the fans, shoutout to my team, though," Reese told reporters after the game. "We came and fought. I mean, that Game 1 was tough for us. But we moved on."
Reese joined an elite club by recording at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a Finals game. Jonquel Jones of Connecticut in 2019 and Breanna Stewart of Seattle in 2020 are the only other players to achieve the feat.
Valkyries centre Kiah Stokes acknowledged the defensive struggles of her team. "She was definitely way more aggressive; she had a great game," Stokes said. "We let everyone kind of have their way."
Gabby Williams finished with 14 points for Golden State. Point guard Veronica Burton admitted the team struggled with execution. "We shot terribly," Burton said. "We missed shots that we make all the time."
Atlanta capitalized on turnovers, scoring 24 points off 19 mistakes by Golden State. The defeat handed the Valkyries their first loss in regulation since falling to Chicago on August 21.
The best-of-seven series now shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Wednesday. The matches will be played at the State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, to accommodate a larger crowd of more than 17,000 spectators compared to the Dream’s usual 3,500-seat home.
