10/09/2026 09:04:00
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10/09 21:02 CDT Reese, Howard help the Dream sweep Liberty and advance to WNBA
Finals for first time since 2013
Reese, Howard help the Dream sweep Liberty and advance to WNBA Finals for first
time since 2013
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Angel Reese scored 22 points, Rhyne Howard added 21 and the
Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 85-83 on Friday night to advance to the
WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013.
The fourth-seeded Dream completed the three-game sweep of the Liberty and
haven't lost in the postseason this season. They will face the winner of the
Las Vegas-Golden State series when the WNBA Finals begin on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The Dream hadn't reached the semifinals since 2018 before this season. Now,
they'll try to win the franchise's first championship with four more victories.
Atlanta led 83-81 with 17.7 seconds left after turning the ball over, giving
New York one last chance. But, Breanna Stewart missed a contested layup with
nine seconds left. DeWanna Bonner hit two free throws with 6.2 seconds left to
seal the win.
Reese, who was the league's Defensive Player of the Year, came to Atlanta this
offseason in a trade and proved to be a key reason the Dream advanced to the
championship round.
She picked up some of the scoring slack that was left as Atlanta was once again
without leading scorer Allisha Gray, who has been sidelined with a finger
injury sustained in Game 1. She missed Game 2 and warmed up before Friday
night's game, but was ruled out about an hour before the tip. She was on the
bench cheering for her teammates in a Howard jersey.
Howard got the Dream going early with 11 points in the first quarter. Reese had
10 in that period, including hitting two 3-pointers.
Things got chippy in the second quarter. After Isobel Borlase scored twice in a
row, Sabrina Ionescu went to set a screen on her and was called for the
offensive foul. She and Reese then started jawing with each other before being
broken up by officials. A few minutes later, Jones blocked Reese's shot and the
two bumped chests while talking trash. The referees stepped in and gave both a
technical foul.
New York was able to get within 40-39 late in the half before Reese scored the
final four points of the second quarter to give Atlanta a 44-39 lead.
The Dream scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a 51-39
lead. New York responded with a 16-4 run, including scoring the first 10 points
in the outburst to take its first lead since 2-0 on a tip-in by Jones. The
Liberty led 68-66 after the third quarter.
Atlanta was down four early in the fourth quarter before scoring the next eight
points to take a 75-71 lead with 4:55 left as they held New York without a
basket for over six minutes. The teams went back and forth before Atlanta moved
ahead 83-79 with a minute to go.
Jonquel Jones hit a layup to make it a two-point game, but it wasn't enough.
Jones and Stewart finished with 26 points apiece.
The loss ended a frustrating season for New York, which returned most of the
same core that won the franchise's first championship two years ago. The team
struggled for consistency this season and finished as the No. 8 seed in the
playoffs. They knocked off top-seeded Minnesota in the first round, but
struggled against the Dream.
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