WNBA

The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. It was the franchise’s first Finals win at home. Atlanta lost all 10 of its Finals games in three previous trips, and Monday’s Game 2 win in San Francisco had been its first. The league moved Games 3 and 4 downtown from Gateway Center Arena, the Dream’s 3,500-seat home, and Wednesday’s game drew a sellout crowd.

Golden State missed its first eight shots, and Atlanta opened on a 9-1 run. The Valkyries did not make a field goal until Aminata Gueye scored with 4:39 left in the first quarter. Golden State cut the deficit to 13-10, but Naz Hillmon made consecutive 3-pointers and Angel Reese added another, and the Dream led 23-15 after one quarter. The Valkyries’ shooting kept them close in the second quarter, with Janelle Salaün scoring 11 points in the half, and Atlanta led 46-40 at the break.

Full Story →

Angel Reese scored 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 at Chase Center on Monday night to even the WNBA Finals at a game apiece. It was the first Finals win in the franchise’s history. Atlanta had been swept in each of its three previous trips to the Finals, the last in 2013, and Saturday’s loss in Game 1 had extended that history by one more night.

Reese made 10 of her 16 shots, added three assists and two blocks, and had 15 points by halftime. The second half was the part that mattered. In Game 1 she scored all 14 of her points before the break, and Golden State held Atlanta to eight points in the fourth quarter to come from behind and win 68-64. This time Reese doubled her total after halftime, and the Dream kept scoring with her.

The first half was played in foul trouble. Rhyne Howard picked up her fourth foul in the second quarter, and Atlanta led only 39-37 at the break. The third quarter decided the game. The Dream outscored Golden State 21-9, and Jordin Canada closed the period with a long three at the buzzer that sent Atlanta into the fourth ahead 60-46. The final quarter finished level at 19, and the Valkyries never produced the kind of late run that won them Saturday’s opener.

Full Story →

Gabby Williams scored 26 points and made six free throws in the final 2:15 after taking a knock to her knee, and the #2 Golden State Valkyries beat the #4 Atlanta Dream 68-64 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco. The win was the first Finals victory for the second-year franchise, which leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.

Atlanta was ahead 64-61 with a little more than three minutes to play and never scored again. Golden State closed on a 7-0 run built entirely at the free-throw line. Williams put the Valkyries ahead for good with two free throws at 1:18, Kiah Stokes made one of two with 23.8 seconds left, and after Allisha Gray missed a 3-pointer that would have given Atlanta the lead with nine seconds remaining, Williams sealed it with two more at 4.1 seconds. She was treated on the bench in the closing moments after the knock to her knee, but she did not miss from the line down the stretch.

Full Story →

The Atlanta Dream will host Games 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena, moving the franchise’s first Finals home games since 2013 out of 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena and into a downtown building that holds about 17,000 for basketball. The Dream and the Atlanta Hawks announced the arrangement in a joint statement Tuesday, ending several days of uncertainty over where Atlanta would play its half of the series against the Golden State Valkyries.

Clearing the dates required changes on both sides. Game 3 moves up one day, from Thursday, October 22, to Wednesday, October 21, at 8:00 PM ET on USA Network and Peacock, avoiding a concert already booked in the building on the original date. Game 4 stays on Saturday, October 24, but tips off at 1:00 PM ET on NBC as the first half of a doubleheader. The Hawks moved their home opener against the Houston Rockets that night from 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM ET to allow time to turn the arena over.

Full Story →