The Guardian
· collected 2026-10-10 · by Bryan Armen Graham at Barclays Center
Story summary
The New York Liberty's WNBA season ended in disappointment with a 3-0 series loss to the Atlanta Dream in the semifinals. The decisive Game 3 concluded on Friday night at Barclays Center, with the Liberty narrowly losing 85-83. Star player Breanna Stewart expressed emotional frustration over being swept for the first time in her career and acknowledged the disappointment felt by their fans.
The series highlighted the Dream's growth under star forward Angel Reese, who scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and made three assists to lead Atlanta to victory. Despite facing criticism earlier in her career, Reese celebrated reaching the WNBA Finals for the first time, emphasizing that she had "manifested" this achievement.
The loss marks a significant setback for Liberty's aspirations of returning to championship contention after Breanna Stewart joined the team in 2023 and led them to their first title in 2024. The series also underscores questions about the future direction of the Liberty franchise, suggesting a possible need for strategic realignment or renewal.
Written for “WNBA Semifinals Results” on 2026-10-10,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
A lot of folks owe Angel Reese an apology after Friday night.
asserted
lot → owe → night
They should probably form an orderly queue.
asserted
They → form → queue
Not that the bad-faith take merchants who have spent three years gleefully circulating her missed layups, likening her occasionally awkward footwork to “Bambi on ice” and marveling at the supposed comic genius of “mebounds” are likely to join it.
asserted
who → spend → it
The right-wing culture warriors who turned one of the WNBA’s most naturally gifted rebounders into a punchline were never particularly interested in an honest assessment of her basketball abilities.
asserted
who → turn → abilities
But after Friday the punch line has never worn thinner.
asserted
line → wear → Friday
Reese’s career has been measured against Caitlin Clark’s almost from the moment the two became household names, their rivalry inflated into a culture-war proxy battle that neither player could fully control.
uncertain
player → measure → that
Now Reese has reached the WNBA finals before her more celebrated contemporary, a delicious reversal for those who have spent three seasons insisting she didn’t belong in the same conversation.
asserted
she → reach → conversation
Not that basketball achievement is require to be a zero-sum proposition.
asserted
achievement → require → ?
On Friday in Brooklyn, Reese poured in a team-high 22 points as the Atlanta Dream completed a three-game sweep of the New York Liberty with an 85-83 victory, reaching the WNBA finals for the first time since 2013.
asserted
Dream → pour → 2013
The 24-year-old scored 18 points before half-time, including a pair of three-pointers, and helped eliminate the 2024 champions on their home floor.
asserted
old → score → floor
As it happens, Reese had been expecting this moment.
asserted
Reese → happen → moment
“I manifested this when I came to Atlanta.
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I → manifest → Atlanta
I knew what I was getting.
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I → know → what
The finals,” she said afterward.
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she → say → finals
“This team has poured so much into me.
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team → pour → me
We poured so much into each other.”
asserted
We → pour → other
Exactly 364 days earlier, while watching last season’s championship series from the couch, Reese had posted a prediction on social media: “Manifesting the finals.”
asserted
Reese → watch → finals
“I was watching the finals from home for the last two years and kept saying, just give me one playoff game,” she said.
asserted
she → watch → game
“I manifest a lot of things and think it’s important to speak positively into your life and your team, but this is all God.
asserted
this → manifest → life
I’m thankful and blessed to be here and won’t take it for granted.”
asserted
I → ’m → it
The former Chicago Sky forward, who arrived in Atlanta in an offseason trade, has found more than a new basketball home.
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who → arrive → home
“We have a praying group; eight of our twelve players go to chapel, and we take that seriously,” she said.
asserted
she → have → that
“It’s a blessing to be around the girls in that locker room.”
asserted
It → ’ → room
Her finishing around the basket could be erratic, her shooting needed work and her impatience sometimes got the better of her.
uncertain
impatience → need → her
But there was an enormous difference between acknowledging those weaknesses and insisting they rendered her accomplishments fraudulent.
asserted
accomplishments → be → weaknesses
Friday’s post-game news conference in the bowels of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center offered a revealing glimpse of the work she has put into addressing them.
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she → offer → them
“For me, it’s really hard for me to not wan to rush success,” Reese admitted.
asserted
Reese → ’ → success
She recalled a particularly demanding shooting drill under Dream coach Karl Smesko, who stopped the exercise until Reese made the required shot.
asserted
Reese → recall → shot
Her teammates were left waiting, and her frustration mounted.
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frustration → leave → ?
“I was upset with him that day, for sure,” she said.
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she → say → him
“Because I didn’t want to let the team down.”
asserted
I → want → team
Smesko remembered the episode, explaining that Atlanta had undertaken substantial changes to Reese’s offensive game.
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Atlanta → remember → game
He warned her that the adjustments would not feel natural immediately, but that the work would begin to pay off as the season progressed.
asserted
season → warn → her
For much of her first two seasons, Reese seemed destined to become a Dennis Rodman for the modern WNBA: a generational rebounder, an indefatigable competitor and the sort of complementary piece whose singular gifts could turn a good team into a great one.
uncertain
gifts → destine → one
But in her third professional season, Reese is making even that comparison look increasingly restrictive.
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comparison → make → season
She is no longer merely the sort of player who can elevate a team built around other stars.
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who → elevate → stars
She’s becoming the sort of player a championship contender can build around.
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contender → become → player
Her reflections on Friday extended beyond basketball.
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reflections → extend → basketball
Reese spoke movingly about her mother, Angel Webb Reese, who raised her and her brother with help from their grandparents and remains her most dependable source of support.
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who → speak → support
“She’s really proud because she knows the dark moments that I’ve been through,” Reese said.
asserted
Reese → ’ → that
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
