Angel Reese's first postseason ended just short of a championship.
Reese had eight points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, but Atlanta fell to Golden State 68-63 in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday night.
“I'm really proud of the year I had," Reese said. “Done a lot of great things this year and wouldn’t have been able to do it without this group. To come all the way to the Finals with this group says a lot. Not a lot of people have this opportunity
to do it. I’d do it all over again with this group.”
History seemed to be on Reese and the Dream's side. No team that led at the end of the first half had lost a game in this WNBA Finals series in the first six games. Atlanta held a six-point advantage at the break.
Also this season, Atlanta had gone 16-0 when Reese hit a 3-pointer. She made one early in the second quarter to give her five points in the game. She went silent offensively after that, only scoring three points in the final 29 minutes of the game.
Gabby Williams made sure that both streaks would end, scoring 28 of her 30 points in the second half to lead Golden State to its first championship and earn MVP honors.
Reese, who came to the Dream this past offseason in a trade, had been the key to Atlanta's success during the Finals. When she was playing well offensively in the championship series, Atlanta didn't lose. She averaged 22 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in the three victories.
In the losses those numbers dropped to 9.3 points, 12 rebounds and 2.3 assists. She was just 12 for 38 from the field in those defeats. Rebounding has been a constant for her. She set the record with 90 rebounds in the WNBA Finals. It just wasn’t enough.
Reese never reached the postseason in first two years in the WNBA with Chicago. She won a title in college at LSU in 2023 and followed it up by helping USA Basketball win its fifth consecutive women's FIBA World Cup championship in September.
She just couldn't help the Dream win their first title in four tries in the finals.
“We’ll be back,” she pledged.
___
See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
