10/20/2026 02:52:00
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10/20 14:51 CDT Angel Reese determined to lead something special for Atlanta
Dream starting on big WNBA Finals stage
Angel Reese determined to lead something special for Atlanta Dream starting on
big WNBA Finals stage
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --- Well before tipoff, Atlanta coach Karl Smesko could see
it in his superstar's face: a sheer focus and fierce determination fixed on a
single purpose to take over in every aspect.
Angel Reese fully realized her team couldn't afford to fall behind by two games
to the Golden State Valkyries in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals as the series
shifts to Atlanta, so she led the charge on both ends and grabbed back some
momentum for the Dream as they evened the series at one game apiece Monday
night.
"Even from going in the locker room, first person I made eye contact with was
Angel and I'm like: ?Oh, I like this look. I like this look,'" Smesko,
Atlanta's second-year coach, said with a chuckle. "She started off aggressive.
One thing we try to do is just give her a couple more breaks during the game,
so that she can just keep that intensity going throughout the entire game, and
she was just fantastic. Just on both ends of the floor, just a superior
performance."
The Dream won Game 2 79-65 as Reese delivered 30 points and 16 rebounds and
Rhyne Howard set a WNBA Finals single-game record with six steals. That
smothering defense flustered the Valkyries into committing 19 turnovers that
led to 24 points for Atlanta. Game 3 is Wednesday night.
Now that her team has finally won its first Finals game after an 0-10 showing,
which spanned three previous berths, Reese understands the defense and grit it
will take to slow down Gabby Williams and a Golden State team that takes the
same kind of pride in its top-notch defense --- and did all season long to earn
the league's No. 2 seed in just the second year for the franchise.
Reese felt she had failed the Dream when the Vallkyries buckled down on her
leading to a scoreless second half in a 68-64 Game 1 defeat Saturday. She made
sure it went differently Monday.
"I was hungry. I wanted one and we let one slip away and you can't do that,
especially on the road," Reese said. "This is a good environment and a good
team. We all came together and we were pissed. We felt disappointed. We felt
embarrassed, and we didn't like the outcome of that last game."
After Game 2, Golden State point guard Veronica Burton felt similar emotions
given her team's season-high turnovers, noting: "It starts with me."
"It's controllable, it's definitely controllable," coach Natalie Nakase said
afterward.
"Just credit to them their effort, their hustle, their fight. I thought they
did an excellent job getting into those lanes and creating those turnovers."
The 24-year-old Reese became the youngest player to have a 30-point, 15-rebound
performance in a playoff game and one of just six players ever to accomplish
the feat in the postseason --- joining Jonquel Jones of Connecticut in 2019 and
Breanna Stewart for Seattle in 2020 as the only others to do so on the Finals
stage.
At every chance, Reese called for the ball.
"Just the energy that she brings for our team, we feed off of that," said guard
Jordin Canada, who contributed 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. "So
when she's in that mode, we know we've got to give her the ball to some form of
capacity, and try to give her as much space as she can to attack and do what
she does best."
The Dream will now be counting on their home crowd after dealing with the noise
from Golden State's loyal, supportive "Ballhalla" fans. Games 3 and 4 were
moved to State Farm Arena to accommodate more people --- the Hawks' arena can
host some 17,000 --- than Atlanta's regular 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena.
Chase Center, meanwhile, has attracted sellout crowds of 18,064 for every
Valkyries game since they started as an expansion franchise last year.
One of these teams will capture its first championship, and Reese wants to lead
the way in the Dream taking the next big step to building something special for
the long term.
"I think it's just the start," she said. "Throughout the entire year we just
continued to stick together and know who we are and we have the city behind us,
we have the team, we have the coaches and everybody rally behind us so it feels
really good. It's just the next step of who Atlanta is and who Atlanta is going
to continue to be for the next couple years."
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