THE EVE EDITION
AFTERGLOW | WED OCT 21
Atlanta has waited a long time for a night like this. The Dream were swept in all three of their earlier trips to the Finals, and Games 3 and 4 had to move downtown because their home arena seats 3,500. A sellout crowd at State Farm Arena watched them hold the Valkyries without a point for almost five minutes, absorb Golden State’s push to tie the game in the third quarter and then pull away so completely that the fourth felt like a celebration. Angel Reese had another double-double, and the Dream are two wins from the first title in franchise history.
It was a day for long runs to end. China beat the United States by 0.233 in Rotterdam to take a world team title the Americans had owned since 2011, Tennessee came back from two sets down to beat Kentucky for the first time in three years, and in Ningbo the race for the last place at the WTA Finals was settled with the winner, Karolína Muchová, nowhere near the court.
The Dream Take Control of the Finals
The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 for their first Finals win at home and a 2-1 series lead. Golden State missed its first eight shots, Atlanta opened on a 9-1 run and led 46-40 at halftime, and when the Valkyries tied it at 49 in the third quarter, the Dream answered with eight straight points, four of them from Angel Reese. Golden State got back within 59-55, and Atlanta took 12 of the last 14 points of the quarter to break it open. Reese finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, her third double-double in three Finals games, Rhyne Howard scored 16 and Naz Hillmon 15, and five Dream players reached double figures. Atlanta has outscored Golden State 63-35 in third quarters this series.
Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 15 points, Tiffany Hayes scored 14 off the bench, and Cecilia Zandalasini made 4 of her 6 3-pointers in 20 minutes. Golden State reached the Finals in its second season, and neither franchise has won a title.
Kostyuk Retires and Muchová Takes the Last Finals Place
Marta Kostyuk retired from her second-round match in Ningbo after a medical timeout, a set down 6-4 to Ekaterina Alexandrova, and the last singles place at the WTA Finals went to Karolína Muchová, who is not playing this week. The #3 seed needed to reach the final to overtake her. Muchová, the Wimbledon runner-up to Linda Nosková this summer, completes a field of Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina and Nosková in Indian Wells from November 8 to 15. Alexandrova, last year’s Ningbo runner-up, is into the quarterfinals.
Sara Bejlek beat #8 Sorana Cîrstea 7-6 (3), 6-4 and meets Marie Bouzková in an all-Czech quarterfinal. Bouzková beat Anastasia Zakharova 7-5, 6-2. Zakharova entered the draw as the alternate for Iga Świątek, who ended her season on Tuesday.
Tingley Scores Twice as Canada Beats Norway
Reed Tingley scored in the 15th minute and converted a penalty awarded after a video review in the 32nd, and Canada beat Norway 3-2 in Rabat for its first points at the U-17 Women’s World Cup. Stine Ariell Klæbo-Solemdal headed Norway back into the match in first-half stoppage time. Adalyn Fairweather restored the two-goal lead with a strike from outside the box in the 78th minute, and Hanne Nesse’s goal six minutes later made for a nervous finish. Tingley also scored in the 6-2 opening loss to Brazil.
Norway, which opened with a 3-0 win over Ghana, stays on three points. Canada has won five of its last seven matches at the tournament and closes Group C against Ghana on Saturday.
China Ends the American Reign in the World Team Final
China won the women’s team title at the World Championships in Rotterdam with 165.764 points, 0.233 ahead of the United States, ending an American run of seven straight world team titles that began in 2011. The Americans went to floor for the last rotation trailing by 2.200 and closed to within 0.233. Zhang Qingying scored 15.066 on beam, the best beam mark of the final. It is China’s first global team title since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The Americans competed without an Olympian after Hezly Rivera withdrew before qualifying with an ankle injury, and Skye Blakely was the only American in the final with a world team title.
Japan took bronze with 164.063, its first women’s team medal at the Olympics or world championships in 60 years. The next world team final is in 2027 in Chengdu, China.
Tennessee Comes Back From Two Sets Down Against Kentucky
#9 Tennessee lost the first two sets to Kentucky 25-17, 25-18 at Food City Center and won the next three 25-19, 25-21, 15-10 for its first win over a top-five opponent since 2005. Chelsea Sutton hit .538 with 14 kills, Jalyn Stout and Kennedi Rogers added 13 apiece, and Caroline Kerr ran the offense with 46 assists. Kentucky outblocked the Lady Vols 11-5 and outhit them .274 to .235, and Brooklyn DeLeye had 25 kills on 53 swings. Tennessee has won six straight and is 15-3, 6-2 in the SEC.
It was Tennessee’s first win over Kentucky since 2023 and the first time this season Kentucky has lost after winning the first two sets. The Wildcats, 15-4 and 7-2, lose their place at the top of the SEC.
Davidson and Yoshida Share the Lead in Haenam
Karis Davidson of Australia and Yuri Yoshida of Japan shot 6-under 66s to share the first-round lead at the BMW Ladies Championship at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam. Haeran Ryu, the world #3, is one shot back after a bogey-free 67 with five birdies, in a four-way tie for third.
Hyo Joo Kim and Amy Yang are in a large group tied for eighth at 3 under.
LAST LIGHT
Golden State has two days to find an answer for Reese before Game 4 on Saturday at 1:00 PM on NBC and Peacock, another sellout in Atlanta, and the series returns to Chase Center for Game 5 on Monday. In Rotterdam, Skye Blakely and Claire Pease get another chance at China in Friday’s all-around final.
Thursday belongs to the American teenagers who scored 17 goals in their opener and to the two best teams in college field hockey, unbeaten in the Big Ten and meeting in Evanston tonight.