Angel Reese drops 30 and 16 as Atlanta routs the Valkyries 79-65 to even the WNBA Finals at a game apiece
SAN FRANCISCO — Angel Reese heard about Game 1. Fourteen points, four turnovers and a loss on the Valkyries’ floor. She didn’t say much about it. She just came back Monday night and took the building.
Reese scored 30 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. She went 10 of 16 from the field and 9 of 11 from the line, and the Atlanta Dream beat Golden State 79-65 to tie the best-of-seven WNBA Finals at 1-1.
It was close for a half. Golden State led by three after the first quarter, and Atlanta led by two at the break. Then came the third quarter, and the Valkyries would like to have it back. Atlanta outscored them 21-9 and stretched the lead to as many as 21.
The Dream did it with their hands. They had 14 steals, six of them by Rhyne Howard, and they got 24 points off Golden State’s 19 turnovers. On the break it was 19-0, Atlanta. They also lived at the free-throw line, going 30 of 35. The Valkyries got there 19 times.
Allisha Gray added 18 for Atlanta. Jordin Canada had 13 points and 10 assists to go with a double-double nobody will talk about because of what Reese did.
Gabby Williams carried Golden State in Game 1 with 26. Monday she had 14 on 3-of-15 shooting. Tiffany Hayes scored 14, and Veronica Burton had 11 points and seven rebounds. The Valkyries shot 34 percent as a team.
Game 1 belonged to the Bay. Golden State won it 68-64 in a game where nobody could make a jump shot. Game 2 belonged to the kid from Baltimore by way of Baton Rouge.
The series moves to Atlanta for Game 3 on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pacific and Game 4 on Saturday at 10 a.m. Pacific. Game 5 comes back to the Bay on Monday, Oct. 26.
Photo: Angel Reese in a 2025 game. John McClellan (John Mac) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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