THE EVE EDITION
AFTERGLOW | MON OCT 26
Nobody at Chase Center could buy a basket for most of Monday night. Golden State and Atlanta went to halftime at 25-22, the lowest-scoring first half the WNBA Finals has ever produced, and the threes kept rattling out. Atlanta had closed to 34-31 on a Rhyne Howard three-point play when Kiah Stokes, the center, stepped behind the arc and made all three of hers. The last one fell with 7:21 to play, the Valkyries pulled away, and a team in only its second season is one win from a championship.
It was a night for patience. Golden State turned 17 Atlanta turnovers into 21 points, María José Marín waited until her last hole at East Lake to make the birdie that won her the medal, Halifax spent the second half in Toronto looking for the goal that would have saved its season, and Naomi Osaka needed a tiebreak to get through her first match at home in Tokyo.
Stokes and Burton Put Golden State One Win From the Title
Golden State beat Atlanta 64-55 at Chase Center on Monday night and leads the WNBA Finals 3-2, one win from a championship in its second season. The Valkyries led 25-22 at halftime, the lowest-scoring first half in Finals history, after the teams made just 5 of 29 threes between them. Rhyne Howard’s three-point play cut the lead to 34-31 midway through the third quarter, and center Kiah Stokes answered from outside. She made all three of her three-point attempts, the last with 7:21 to play, and finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Veronica Burton also scored 13 and blocked four shots, tying Diana Taurasi’s record for a guard in a Finals game. Atlanta turned the ball over 17 times, and Golden State scored 21 points off them. Angel Reese had 15 rebounds and five assists but only seven points and was called for three offensive fouls.
Stokes has blocked at least three shots in six straight games, tying Lisa Leslie’s 2003 record for a single postseason. Tiffany Hayes and Cecilia Zandalasini scored 12 each, enough to cover a 3-for-14 night from Gabby Williams. Game 6 is Thursday at State Farm Arena, where the Dream need a win to force a Game 7 in San Francisco on Saturday.
WNBA Full Story →
Marín Takes the East Lake Cup Medal
María José Marín of Arkansas birdied her last hole on Monday to finish at 5 under and win the individual title at the East Lake Cup in Atlanta by two shots. It was the seventh college win for the senior, who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur this year, and it came in the 18 holes of stroke play that seed the four-team match play. USC’s Jasmine Koo and Kylie Chong and Oklahoma State’s Louise Depadt tied for second at 3 under.
USC, last season’s national runner-up, won the team stroke play by two shots over Arkansas and takes the top seed into match play. The Trojans meet fourth-seeded Oklahoma State in Tuesday’s semifinals, and Arkansas plays third-seeded Eastern Michigan, with the final on Wednesday.
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Halifax Draws in Toronto and Misses the Playoffs
Halifax needed a win at BMO Field on the last night of the Northern Super League regular season and could not find one. Kaylee Hunter put AFC Toronto ahead in the 28th minute, Saorla Miller equalized in the 44th, and about 10 minutes later Miller hit the post. The second half was scoreless, and the 1-1 draw left the Tides fifth, two points behind Vancouver for the last playoff place. Toronto had more of the ball and more of the chances, 19 shots to 14 and six on target to four, and the draw cost it second place. It finishes third with 39 points, one behind Ottawa.
The semifinals begin this weekend. Toronto plays Ottawa, with the second leg in Ottawa, and first-place Montreal plays Vancouver, the defending champion.
Northern Super League Full Story →
Morgan Keeps Her Title as Lynch Wins by Disqualification
Becky Lynch went to Fresno for a match to decide Liv Morgan’s next challenger and got Morgan herself, after general manager Adam Pearce announced that Stephanie Vaquer had not been medically cleared. In the main event of Raw, Lynch fought off Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez and hit Morgan with the Manhandle Slam, and Judgment Day broke up the pin for the disqualification. Morgan kept the Women’s World Championship. Tiffany Stratton then ran in, hit Morgan with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and tried to cash in her Money in the Bank contract, but Dominik Mysterio pulled Morgan out of the ring before the cash-in became official.
Bayley beat Lyra Valkyria in a No Disqualification match, forcing her to submit to a crossface while pressing a kendo stick into her mouth. IYO SKY rolled up Rodriguez to win their non-title match and then took a two-on-one beating from Rodriguez and Perez.
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Osaka Beats Paolini in Her Tokyo Opener
Naomi Osaka beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 7-6(4) at the Ariake Coliseum to reach the second round of the Pan Pacific Open. The seventh seed, ranked #19 and playing at home, needed 1 hour and 38 minutes against the Italian, who is ranked #35, and closed out the second set in a tiebreak. It was the marquee match of a first round already missing two seeds, after Maja Chwalińska, the second seed, and Belinda Bencic, the defending champion, withdrew with injuries.
Yulia Putintseva, a qualifier ranked #67, beat Maria Sakkari 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in 2 hours and 26 minutes to set up an all-Kazakh second round against #1 Elena Rybakina. Qualifier Maya Joint beat the sixth seed, Sorana Cîrstea, Ekaterina Alexandrova beat Ann Li 6-4, 6-4, and Leylah Fernandez beat Japanese wild card Himeno Sakatsume.
WTA Full Story →
LAST LIGHT
Atlanta led these Finals 2-1 after Game 3. Golden State has won both games since, and Angel Reese, who had a double-double in each of the first three games, was held to seven points on Monday. The Dream have two days at home to find her shots before the Valkyries get their first chance to close it out.
Tuesday is match play at East Lake, with all four women’s teams still alive for the Cup, and the second round in Tokyo tonight.