Atlanta Dream won their first-ever WNBA Finals game, beating the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 to level the best-of-seven series at 1-1. The result ends a painful run for the franchise, which had never won a Finals game before and had lost all 10 of its previous Finals matches, including 3-0 series defeats in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
Angel Reese was a central figure in the win. Reeflecting on her performance, Reese admitted she had fallen short in the second half of the previous game. "I let my team down last game, not really contributing as much as I could in the second half," said Reese. "I just wanted to make sure I came out tonight and left my mark. And I think I did that."
Reese said the team was determined to bounce back after losing a game it felt it should have won. "I was hungry, I think we let one slip away [on Saturday]. You can't do that. We felt disappointed, we felt embarrassed," she said. "I walked off the court not feeling like myself, and I wanted to make sure that, this game, I did everything I could do to walk off the court and feel like who I am."
The series now shifts to Atlanta after two games in California. Games three and four will be played on Thursday, 22 October and Saturday, 24 October, with the Dream looking to build on their first Finals victory.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing