The WNBA Finals continued on Wednesday night with the Atlanta Dream taking a 2-1 series lead over the Golden State Valkyries. It was a dominant showing by the Dream in a 97-71 win that is the eighth-largest margin of victory in WNBA Finals history.
It was not only a huge win for the Dream to get the upper hand in the series, but it was also another statement performance from Angel Reese as she continues to put herself among the league’s elite players.
Here are some key takeaways from Wednesday’s game.
Angel Reese continues to dominate in postseason
From the moment she arrived in the league, Reese was an immediate force on the glass and on the defensive side of the ball. The question that was always going to determine how high her ceiling could go was always going to come down to her ability to improve offensively and gain more consistency there.
It is happening.
She continued her MVP-level run through the playoffs with another double-double on Wednesday, scoring a game-high 21 points to go with a game-high 12 rebounds.
She also added three assists and three steals in the win, while shooting 7-for-12 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range
Through the first three games of the series, she is averaging 21.7 points, 13.3 rebounds and two steals per game, while also shooting 56.4% from the field and 75% from 3-point range.
That’s about as dominant as a player can get.
Do not sleep on Rhyne Howard’s performance
While Reese has very clearly been the engine that is driving the Dream’s run, she is not alone in putting the team in this position.
Rhyne Howard has also been a difference-maker, and finished Wednesday’s game with 16 points and four rebounds, while also recording five steals for the second consecutive game.
How rare is that last point?
No other player in WNBA Finals history has ever done it.