Angel Reese sent the message loud and clear to her teammates: “I need the ball! I need the ball!”
In front of the Golden State Valkyries’ raucous home crowd, the Atlanta star had no choice but to raise her voice — and Reese knew she had to raise her game, too.
She delivered with 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals after she struggled down the stretch in the series opener, and the Dream stymied Golden State on both ends in the second half to beat the Valkyries 79-65 on Monday night and even the best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece.
“For me, I think I let my team down last game not really contributing as much as I could in the second half,” Reese said. “Not even just about scoring, my screen quality, me hustling and running to get rebounds, just doing the things that they know me to do. So I just wanted to make sure I came out tonight and left my mark and did whatever I could to get the win, and I think I did that tonight.”
Rhyne Howard set a Finals record with six steals, Allisha Gray added 18 points, and Jordin Canada contributed 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Dream earned the franchise’s first Finals victory after going winless in three previous trips — 0-10 overall. They now head home having salvaged a split in front of the boisterous “Ballhalla” crowd at Chase Center.
“It’s just the next step of who Atlanta is,” Reese said.
Reese became the third player with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a Finals game, joining Jonquel Jones for Connecticut in 2019 and Breanna Stewart for Seattle in 2020.
Atlanta coach Karl Smesko could see the focus in his superstar’s face before the game, and Reese’s teammates also saw it.
“She was definitely way more aggressive, she had a great game,” Valkyries center Kiah Stokes said. “We let everyone kind of have their way.”
Game 3 is Wednesday in Atlanta, where the next two matchups were moved to the NBA Hawks’ State Farm Arena so more fans could attend. It holds more than 17,000, as opposed to the Dream’s regular home, Gateway Center Arena, which accommodates only 3,500.
Chase Center holds 18,064 and has sold out every game since the Valkyries began playing last year.
Gabby Williams finished with 14 points on 3-for-15 shooting after she was the only Golden State player to score in double figures with 26 points in Saturday’s 68-64 Game 1 win. The Valkyries shot 34.4% and went 7 for 24 from 3-point range.
“We shot terribly,” point guard Veronica Burton said. “We missed shots that we make all the time.”
Foul trouble almost did in the Dream this time — but Reese simply wouldn’t have it. She went scoreless in the second half of the opener but delivered the big baskets and key defensive stops two days later, finishing 10 for 16 from the floor while dishing out three assists and blocking two shots.
“We watched film and saw the things that we messed up on. When I said that they didn’t do anything to mess us up, it was literally just us,” Reese said. “And we can see that tonight. And we’re gonna carry that over in Atlanta. Atlanta, y’all better pull up and pop out, I’m looking forward to it.”
Atlanta scored 24 points off Golden State’s 19 turnovers to hand the Valkyries their first loss in regulation since a 73-70 defeat at Chicago on Aug. 21. The Dream had just eight points off turnovers in Game 1 but returned to the defensive formula that advanced Atlanta this far.
“We just got back to our identity about who we are and kept our foot on the pedal,” Reese said. “We didn’t let up and everybody was just on the same page, we had each other’s back. That’s just Atlanta basketball.”
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