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Reese, Howard help the Dream sweep Liberty and advance to WNBA Finals for first time since 2013

By The Associated Press
Posted 10/10/26

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 …

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Reese, Howard help the Dream sweep Liberty and advance to WNBA Finals for first time since 2013

Posted

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.

VALKYRIES 87, ACES 77, OT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kayla Thornton scored 18 points and second-year Golden became the quickest expansion team to reach the WNBA Finals, sweeping defending champion Las Vegas in overtime in Game 3.

The second-seeded Valkyries will have home-court advantage and will host No. 4 Atlanta beginning Oct. 17. The Dream swept New York earlier in the night, and now teams are 22-0 in playoff history when leading a series 2-0.

Las Vegas, which was seeded third, had won three of the past four championships.

Gabby Williams added 16 points for the Valkyries, including eight in overtime. Former Aces Kiah Stokes and Tiffany Hayes each had 11 points, and Stokes also grabbed 10 rebounds.

A’ja Wilson, honored before night’s game for winning an unprecedented fifth MVP, scored 21 points, but on 6-for-19 shooting for the Aces. She also had 10 rebounds, joining DeWanna Bonner as the only players with 1,300 points and 600 rebounds in the postseason.

Jackie Young added 18 points and Chelsea Gray 17.

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