The Atlanta Dream dominated the second half to beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 on Wednesday at State Farm Arena, taking a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals. Angel Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Atlanta.
The Dream outscored Golden State 25-17 in the third quarter and 26-14 in the fourth to pull away. Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 15 points and eight assists, but Golden State shot 35% from the field with no other starter reaching double figures.
Key Moments: How Atlanta Pulled Away
Golden State led 45-46 at the 9:02 mark of the third quarter before Atlanta took over. The Dream held the Valkyries to 17 points in the quarter while scoring 25 to build a cushion heading to the fourth.
Atlanta never trailed by more than single digits for long, and the official data shows zero lead changes logged for Golden State’s side while Atlanta’s largest lead of the night reached 26 points. The Dream forced 17 total turnovers and converted them into 22 points off those giveaways, while limiting their own turnovers to just 10. Atlanta also dominated the paint, outscoring Golden State there 44-20, and won the fast-break battle 13-5.
Top Performers
Reese shot 7 of 12 with 2 of 12 from three and was 5 of 5 from the line. Rhyne Howard scored 16 points on 4 of 11 shooting and 7 of 10 from the line, with four assists and five steals. Naz Hillmon had 15 points off the bench on 6 of 10 shooting with 3 of 5 from three, and finished plus-17. Jordin Canada had 10 points and a team-high eight assists with four turnovers.
For Golden State, Cecilia Zandalasini had 13 points on 4 of 8 shooting with four three-pointers. Kiah Stokes grabbed 11 rebounds. Golden State shot 11 of 17 from the free-throw line.
What It Means
Atlanta improved to 30-14 and leads the best-of-seven Finals 2-1. Golden State is 32-12.
Atlanta needs one more win to clinch its first WNBA championship.
What’s Next
Game 4 is next for the series.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
