Atlanta has found a formula, and Golden State has yet to solve it. For the second game running, the Dream turned a tight contest into a comfortable win in the minutes after halftime, crushing the Valkyries by 26 points, 97-71, and grab the upper hand in the WNBA Finals, now 2-1 with a maximum of seven games.
The venue was part of the story. Instead of the 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena, the league moved the game to the Hawks’ State Farm Arena, and a sellout crowd of more than 17,000 filled it. Tickets for Saturday’s fourth game, at the same arena, are gone as well.
Golden State did not score a field goal for nearly five minutes and still clawed back, going into halftime just six points down at 46-40. Early in the third quarter the Valkyries drew level at 49. Atlanta coach Karl Smesko later admitted he had been tempted to stop play, then saw his players sorting things out among themselves. An 8-0 burst followed, and a 12-2 finish to the quarter left the Dream up 71-57. Add up the third periods of this series and Atlanta leads them by 28 points.
Angel Reese drove much of it, finishing with 21 points to go with a dozen rebounds, her third double-double in three Finals games and a league first for a player her age. Guard Rhyne Howard chipped in 16, plus five more steals; nobody in league history had managed five or more in consecutive Finals games before her. For the visitors, Gabby Williams was top scorer on 15.
Nobody in Atlanta is celebrating yet. Smesko reminded everyone that his team still needs two more victories, describing the Dream as being “halfway home” and nothing more. A title would be the first in franchise history.
