Angel Reese fuels Atlanta Dream’s WNBA Finals surge and is now 2 wins from her first title

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Cite

Feinberg, D. (2026, October 23). Angel Reese fuels Atlanta Dream’s WNBA Finals surge and is now 2 wins from her first title. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/angel-reese-fuels-atlanta-dream-s-wnba-finals-surge-and-is-now-2-wins-from-her-first-title/article_59a51f8c-ae37-5ba9-8e5e-49d396a4222a.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-24 · by Doug Feinberg

Quick Summary

Angel Reese, a key player for the Atlanta Dream in their WNBA Finals series against Golden State, has been instrumental in leading her team with consistent high performance. In Game 3, the Dream won 97-71, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Reese averages 21.7 points and 13.7 rebounds per game in the Finals, demonstrating significant growth in her offensive skills since entering the league three years ago. At just 24 years old, she has already earned an NCAA championship and a World Cup title, positioning herself to secure Atlanta’s first WNBA championship with two more victories.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-24, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Angel Reese has become a pivotal figure for the Atlanta Dream, leading them to within two wins of their first WNBA championship. In Game 3 on Wednesday night, the Dream defeated Golden State by a score of 97-71, putting Atlanta in strong contention for the title. This is Reese's first postseason appearance with her new team since joining from Chicago last season. At just 24 years old, she has already established herself as an emotional leader, pouring energy and confidence into her teammates every day. Her recent performances have seen her achieve a feat only matched by A'ja Wilson in finals history: scoring at least 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in consecutive games. Game 4 is set for Saturday, with the Dream aiming to secure their place in WNBA history.

Written for “WNBA Finals Atlanta Dream” on 2026-10-24, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 103238 · logged 2026-10-24

Story

📰 WNBA Finals Atlanta Dream
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star · 0.86 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 12% hedged 4 of 32 📰 publisher trust 64
“The articles describe different games in the WNBA Finals series; Article A is about Game 2 (79-65), while Article B is about a later game where Atlanta won 97-71.”
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3 📰 publisher trust 68
“The articles describe different games in the WNBA Finals series; Article A refers to Game Two won by Atlanta Dream, while Article B discusses a later victory (likely Game Three or Four) with focus on Angel Reese's performance.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 17 📰 publisher trust 64
“Article A describes the buildup to Game 3 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena, while Article B discusses the outcome of Game 3 and looks ahead to Game 4.”
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 3 of 32 📰 publisher trust 68
“The articles describe different games: Article A is about Game 3 of the WNBA Finals where Atlanta Dream beat Golden State Valkyries, while Article B mentions a victory on Wednesday night but doesn't specify it's the same game as in Article A. Additionally, Article B looks forward to Game 4 scheduled for Saturday.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 3% hedged 1 of 32 📰 publisher trust 64
“While both articles discuss a single game of the WNBA Finals between Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries, Article A focuses on defensive strategies and statistics from Game 3, while Article B centers on Angel Reese's performance and leadership. The events described are related but not identical.”
Al Jazeera · 0.87 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 20 📰 publisher trust 60
“The articles describe different games of the WNBA Finals; Article A covers Game 3 (2-1 series lead) while Article B discusses a subsequent game where Atlanta won 97-71.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 12 📰 publisher trust 64
“The articles focus on different players (Allisha Gray vs Angel Reese) and their performances in the WNBA Finals, but do not describe the same specific game or incident.”
Al Jazeera · 0.87 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 25 📰 publisher trust 60
“The articles describe different games in the WNBA Finals series.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
31
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 31 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-24 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 9398 article(s) · 25 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 25 correction(s)
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Doug Feinberg
28 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 Gray briefly left Game 3 after Gabby Williams made contact with her injured hand.
🔮 The Atlanta Dream have imposed their will defensively on Golden State in the WNBA Finals so far, using their size and strength to dominate the Valkyries.
🔮 So I definitely will miss it.
🔮 Engelbert described traits that would help her successor.
🔮 The WNBA will crown a first-time champion with the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream playing for the title in the best-of-seven series that starts Saturday.
🔮 Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
🔮 New York will be making its third appearance in the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs in the past four years when the Liberty play the Atlanta Dream on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-five series.
🔮 Minnesota couldn’t get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
🔮 Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers are set to make their WNBA postseason debuts while Caitlin Clark returns to the playoffs after missing last season because of injury.
🔮 “I know the betting people will have favorites and that sort of thing.
Also by Doug Feinberg
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 28 articles by Doug Feinberg →

Topics

ATLANTA Dream Game 4 Golden State WNBA

Subjects

ATLANTA GPE · 6× Reese PERSON · 5× Dream ORG · 3× WNBA ORG · 3× Angel PERSON · 2× Angel Reese PERSON · 1× A’ja Wilson PERSON · 1× Chicago ORG · 1× Golden State GPE · 1× Jordin Canada PERSON · 1×

Narrative

“I just want to be able to come in every day and just pour into everybody, bring energy, bring the morale because I think it’s contagious,” Reese said after the 97-71 victory on Wednesday night over Golden State.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-24

Claims (31 extracted, 0 hedged)

ATLANTA (AP) — Angel Reese has always exuded confidence on and off the basketball court. asserted
Reese → exude → court
In her first season with Atlanta, she’s already become the team’s emotional leader and now has the Dream two wins away from the first WNBA championship in franchise history. asserted
she → become → history
“I just want to be able to come in every day and just pour into everybody, bring energy, bring the morale because I think it’s contagious,” Reese said after the 97-71 victory on Wednesday night over Golden State. asserted
Reese → want → State
“I’m hype all the time and bringing confidence into everybody. asserted
I → ’m → everybody
Like, you’re not taking this from us. asserted
you → take → us
In my heart, I’m not letting you take this from us, and I think it becomes contagious within the team. asserted
it → let → team
They feel that confidence, too. asserted
They → feel → confidence
Reese, who came to Atlanta from Chicago in an offseason trade, has made the most of her first postseason appearance since coming into the league three years ago. asserted
who → come → league
She became only the second player in finals history with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive games, joining A’ja Wilson. asserted
She → become → Wilson
At 24 years old, she also became the youngest with three straight double-doubles in the finals. asserted
she → become → finals
“Angel shows up in every game,” said point guard Jordin Canada, a two-time champion. asserted
Canada → show → game
“Some people only show up at big games, but she’s consistent with that, and she brings her teammates along.” asserted
she → show → teammates
Reese has raised her game offensively this postseason and is averaging 21.7 points and 13.7 rebounds in the WNBA Finals to help the Dream take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. asserted
Dream → raise → series
She always has had an incredible motor where she has been able to outwork people on both ends of the court. asserted
she → have → court
Now her offensive game has caught up. asserted
game → catch → ?
“It’s really hard to match Angel’s energy, but we just try to do our part … just doing the little things to get into it. asserted
we → ’ → it
She brings a ton of energy. asserted
She → bring → energy
It’s very infectious,” Dream forward Naz Hillmon said. asserted
Hillmon → ’ → ?
“She brings her teammates with her, as (everyone) can see. asserted
everyone → bring → her
So just continuing to beat into it and go along with what she’s got going on.” asserted
she → continue → it
Reese entered the WNBA with criticism of her offensive game. asserted
Reese → enter → game
She didn’t shoot much outside of the lane and detractors said many of her rebounds came from her own misses. asserted
many → shoot → misses
Now she is hitting 3-pointers at 47% in the postseason and shooting about the same from the field overall thanks to the trust she had in Atlanta coach Karl Smesko to change her shot. asserted
she → hit → shot
Now she’s only two wins away from adding a WNBA title to her ever-growing resume. asserted
she → ’ → resume
She won an NCAA championship at LSU and a World Cup title this past September. asserted
She → win → LSU
When asked after the Game 3 win if she belonged in the conversation with other Atlanta sports greats like Hank Aaron, Dominique Wilkins and Deion Sanders, Reese deflected the notion. asserted
Reese → ask → notion
“I’ve only been here six months, so I don’t know how y’all can give me that yet,” she said. asserted
she → know → that
“My goal was to come to Atlanta and win a championship. asserted
goal → come → championship
And I think you become one of the greats and you come one of the best when you can win and impact winning. asserted
you → think → winning
And that’s all I wanted to do coming here. asserted
I → ’ → ?
Everything else really doesn’t matter to me.” asserted
Everything → matter → me
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support