The Atlanta Dream are halfway there after defeating the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena on Wednesday night.
The Dream lead their best-of-seven series 2-1, and Game 4 is on Saturday in Atlanta.
Angel Reese delivered another dominant performance, scoring 15 of her game-high 21 points in the first half and finishing with 12 rebounds.
Reese is now the youngest player in WNBA Finals history to record 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds in consecutive games.
She is also the youngest player to record three straight double-doubles in the WNBA Finals.
Atlanta led 46-40 at halftime, but the Dream blew it open in the third. The Dream shot 71% from the field in the quarter and outscored the Valkyries 25–17. Atlanta took a 71-57 lead into the fourth and continued its onslaught. The Dream built its largest lead of the game, 26 points, in the fourth.
Atlanta outscored the Valkyries 51-31 in the second half.
Reese is one of the Dream’s leaders, and her attitude and energy are infectious.
“I just want to make sure I bring energy,” Reese said. “And hopefully, I can say the same, but every day I just want to be able to come in every day and pour into everybody, bring the energy, bring the morale because I think it’s contagious.
“When you have a mentality starting from me where I’m hype all the time and bringing the confidence into everybody, like y’all not taking this from us. In my heart, I’m not letting you take this from us, and it becomes contagious on the team.”
Atlanta had five players in double figures in Game 3. Rhyne Howard had 16 points, Naz Hillmon added 15 points, including 3/5 from deep, and Jordin Canada had 10 points, six rebounds, and eight assists.
For Golden State, Gabby Williams led the way with 15.
The Valkyries enter Saturday’s Game 4 looking to avoid a 3–1 deficit, while the Dream have a chance to move within one win of their first championship.
Photo: Atlanta Dream
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