Angel Reese, Dream roll past Valkyries in Game 3 to take a 2-1 WNBA Finals lead in front of sold-out crowd

Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream took full advantage of their move to State Farm Arena on Wednesday night.The Dream, in front of a sold-out crowd at the Hawks' arena, rolled to a blowout 97-71 win over the Golden State Valkyries in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. That gave them a 2-1 lead in the series entering Game 4 on Saturday. Reese, after dropping 30 points in Game 2 on Monday, recorded yet another double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds in the win.With a double-double in each of the three Finals games so far, the 24-year-old is the youngest player in WNBA history to drop three-straight double-doubles in the championship series."We fought for this arena, so we have to protect it," Dream star Rhyne Howard said on the court after the win. "I think it's big. We went and stole one, but we couldn't let them come in and do the same thing."Wednesday's contest got off to an incredibly slow and historically bad start. The two teams combined to shoot just 3-of-20 from the field in the opening minutes, and the Valkyries missed their first eight shots of the night. Their scoring drought, which lasted nearly five full minutes, was the second-longest scoring drought to open a WNBA Finals game in league history, according to Elias. But despite that — and a stretch in which Naz Hamilton and Reese drilled a trio of 3-pointers in a roughly 90-second span — the Valkyries managed to keep the game within single digits at the end of the quarter. The pace picked up after that, and the Valkyries climbed right back into the game after falling down by 10 points briefly in the second quarter. A 3-pointer from Cecilia Zandalasini, the team's eighth in the first 20 minutes, cut the game to just six points at the break.The Valkyries came storming out of halftime ready to make a move, too, and even tied the game back up just moments into the third quarter. But that was as close as they got to taking the lead. The Dream rattled off a quick 8-0 burst, capped by a coast-to-coast layup from Reese, to take control of the game right back. A post with guard skills ✨Angel Reese caps off a 8-0 run by ATL by taking it coast-to-coast in transition to force the timeout call pic.twitter.com/gucDY95TAG— WNBA (@WNBA) October 22, 2026 They ended up closing the period on an extended 22-8 run while limiting the Valkyries to just three made field goals the rest of the way to blow the game wide open. Reese even sat out the final three-and-a-half minutes of the quarter, and the Dream still added 10 points with her watching from the sidelines.Howard pushed the Dream's lead to 20 minutes into the fourth quarter, and that was more than enough to seal the deal. They cruised the rest of the way to secure the 16-point win and take the 3-1 advantage in the series.Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 15 points and eight assists. Zandalasini added 13 points, and was the only other starter to hit double figures. The Valkyries are in just their second season in the league after joining as an expansion franchise in 2025, and are making their first WNBA Finals appearance.Howard added 16 points and four assists to go with Reese's double-double for the Dream. She had five steals, too, which made her the first player in WNBA Finals history to have at least five in consecutive games. Hamilton added 15 points, and Jordin Canada finished with 10 points and eight assists. The Dream are now in their fourth WNBA Finals since entering the league in 2008, but the team has never lifted a championship trophy. Wednesday night's game was their first Finals win on a home court, too, after they were swept the previous three times when the WNBA Finals was a best-of-three series. The series was adjusted and moved from the Gateway Center, a 3,500-seat arena where the Dream usually play, last week to accommodate the massive demand from fans. The 17,000 that showed up on Wednesday clearly had a great time.The vibes are high in State Farm Arena right now pic.twitter.com/Ezl1iFZChY— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) October 22, 2026 Despite the blowout win, this series is far from over. Thanks to the Valkyries' Game 1 win, the series will shift back to the Bay Area for at least Game 5 next week, regardless of what happens Saturday. But Wednesday night was a huge statement win for Reese and the Dream. And the energy that was brought to State Farm Arena is sure to show up again this weekend.