{"id":877418,"date":"2026-10-10T12:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T12:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/877418\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T12:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T12:04:16","slug":"angel-reese-powers-atlanta-past-new-york-into-first-wnba-finals-since-2013-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/877418\/","title":{"rendered":"Angel Reese powers Atlanta past New York into first WNBA finals since 2013 | WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angel Reese scored a team-high 22 points as the Atlanta Dream reached the WNBA finals for the first time in 13 years on Friday night, capping a three-game sweep of the New York Liberty<\/a> with a tense 85-83 victory in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Rhyne Howard added 21 points and Jordin Canada finished with 19 points and 11 assists as Atlanta survived a second-half fightback by New York to close out the best-of-five semi-final tie. The Dream reached the championship series for the fourth time in their 19-year history and will be seeking their first title.<\/p>\n

They will face the Golden State Valkyries, who completed their own sweep<\/a> of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces later on Friday to reach the finals in only their second season as an expansion franchise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came to Atlanta, I knew what I was getting,\u201d the 24-year-old Reese said of her offseason trade<\/a> from the Chicago Sky. \u201cThis team has poured so much into me. We poured into each other. This is my moment. I\u2019m supposed to be here and I\u2019m just so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atlanta finished off the 2024 champions<\/a> despite playing without Allisha Gray, their second-leading scorer behind Howard, who missed her second consecutive game with a left hand injury. The ageless DeWanna Bonner, who turned 39 seven weeks ago, chipped in with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Australian reserve Isobel Borlase added 10 points on five-of-six from the floor.<\/p>\n

The Dream got off to a flying start, connecting on five of their eight three-point attempts in the opening frame. Howard scored 11 points and Reese added 10, including a pair of threes, as Atlanta established a 25-18 lead. Reese had 18 points by half-time, helping the visitors take a 44-39 advantage into the dressing room.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Tempers flared during a physical second quarter, with officials twice having to separate opposing players. Reese exchanged pleasantries with Sabrina Ionescu after the Liberty point guard was whistled for an offensive foul while setting a screen on Borlase, who had scored on back-to-back possessions. The tension escalated minutes later when Jonquel Jones rejected a shot by Reese, prompting a heated, chest-to-chest confrontation that ended with both players receiving technical fouls.<\/p>\n

The Liberty, staring down elimination before a sellout Barclays Center crowd of 17,991 almost entirely in their corner, scratched back after the intermission. Breanna Stewart scored 10 points in the third quarter and Jones added nine as the Liberty went on a 17-4 run over 3min 42sec, turning a 12-point deficit into a one-point lead.<\/p>\n

But the short-handed Dream flashed their defensive steel when it mattered most, limiting New York to a scant 15 points in the final quarter. The Liberty missed 10 of their 15 shots over the closing 10 minutes, including six of seven from beyond the arc, as Atlanta outscored the hosts 19-15 to nail down their place in the finals before a rollicking Brooklyn crowd that included Olivia Rodrigo, Meek Mill and Ethan Hawke.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see Atlanta, they really just work together,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cDefense wins championships. It\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Atlanta guard Jordin Canada drives for a layup during the second quarter of Friday\u2019s WNBA semi-final Game 3 against New York at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Photograph: Ishika Samant\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Stewart and Jones finished with 26 points apiece for New York, with Jones adding 14 rebounds and three blocks. Ionescu scored 12 but struggled from the field, connecting on four of 12 attempts. The Liberty\u2019s season ended with a sixth consecutive defeat to Atlanta dating back to the regular season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to win,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cBecause we did it, we went twice early on, it was almost like, \u2018Oh, this is gonna be an every-year thing.\u2019 Like, this shit isn\u2019t easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get there and when you win, you can\u2019t take it for granted, because you don\u2019t know if you\u2019ll be able to get back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result completed a remarkable series for Karl Smesko\u2019s Dream, who had taken a commanding lead with Wednesday\u2019s 101-98 overtime victory. Atlanta now stand four wins from their first WNBA<\/a> championship, having lost each of their previous three appearances in the finals in 2010, 2011 and 2013.<\/p>\n

The best-of-seven WNBA finals against Golden State will open on 17 October in San Francisco, with both teams chasing their first championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe job is not done,\u201d Reese said. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely happy about where we are right now. We\u2019re not satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Angel Reese scored a team-high 22 points as the Atlanta Dream reached the WNBA finals for the first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":877419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[99],"class_list":["post-877418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=877418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/877419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=877418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}