'Hungry' Reese redeems Dream with 30-point, 16-rebound effort to even WNBA Finals — SkimNews
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- Angel Reese delivered 30 points and 16 rebounds in the Dream's 79-65 Game 2 win over the Golden State Valkyries, evening the WNBA Finals at 1-1 after she had just 14 points and voiced frustration with her second-half play in Game 1.
- The victory was Atlanta's first WNBA Finals win after going 0-10 in prior Finals appearances dating back to 2010, according to the source.
- The Dream broke the game open with a 21-9 third quarter, going a perfect 12-of-12 from the foul line in the frame after leading just 39-37 at halftime.
- Atlanta finished 30-of-35 from the free throw line to Golden State's 16-of-19 and scored 24 points off 19 Valkyries turnovers, per the recap.
- Reese joined Jonquel Jones (2019, Connecticut) and Breanna Stewart (2020, Seattle) as the only players with 30-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in a Finals game, and at 24 years, 166 days, became the youngest to record 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds in the Finals.
- Gabby Williams, who scored 26 points for Golden State in Game 1, was held to 14 on 3-of-15 shooting in Game 2, with teammate Veronica Burton taking responsibility for the team's turnovers as point guard.
- Game 3 is Wednesday in Atlanta, where the Valkyries will look to correct the foul disparity after coach Natalie Nakase said Golden State needed to 'play harder' and 'play smarter.'
Why it matters: The Dream's first Finals win in 11 tries was decided less by Reese's star turn than by a 14-point free-throw gap (30-of-35 to 16-of-19) and 19 Golden State turnovers — the exact issues Nakase flagged for Game 3 in Atlanta, where a tied series flips home-court leverage away from the Valkyries after they swept Atlanta three times in the regular season.
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