Angel Reese Lived Up to Defensive Player of the Year Award in First Semifinals Win
Angel Reese is still undefeated in her very first WNBA playoff run. After the Atlanta Dream swept the Washington Mystics in the first round, they also took down the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the semifinals despite losing Allisha Gray to an injury.
DeWanna Bonner stepped up big-time, recording 23 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 30 minutes off the bench. Jordin Canada was also huge, and Rhyne Howard flirted with a triple-double despite missing seven of her eight 3-point attempts.
Reese also left her mark on the game. She scored 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field and knocked down a 3-pointer. Moreover, she recorded 4 steals and 3 blocks, very much living up to the Defensive Player of the Year award she just won a few days ago.
Angel Reese made some big defensive plays
Reese faces a tall defensive task in the series against the Liberty. Her primary assignment in Game 1 was Jonquel Jones, a former MVP and Finals MVP, but she also spent time guarding Breanna Stewart—another MVP—and 6’11” Han Xu. Reese met the challenge head-on and made several impactful defensive plays.
For example, about three minutes into the second quarter, she picked up a pass, and when Rhyne Howard missed the fast-break layup, Reese grabbed the offensive rebound and scored an and-one. About halfway through the third quarter, she similarly knocked the ball away from Han Xu and scored an easy layup on the other end.
Reese was consistently disruptive as a help defender and in her one-on-one matchups.
So far this postseason no player has managed to record more steals and blocks in a single game than Reese did in this one with her four steals and three blocks. Stewart came close with 3 steals and 3 blocks. Other than that, Caitlin Clark recorded 2 steals and 4 blocks in Game 3 of the Indiana Fever’s first-round series against the Las Vegas Aces, and A’ja Wilson also recorded 2 steals and 4 blocks in Game 1 of that same series.
If the Dream want to win this series, they will have to lean on their defense, force a ton of turnovers, and score in transition, especially considering that Allisha Gray’s shot may be a little off after injuring her finger. Reese will be key to that. Few forwards can get steals at the rate Reese can. She even picked Stewart’s pocket on the perimeter, but missed the transition layup. The next step for Reese is to capitalize more reliably on the offensive opportunities she creates with her defense. If she can do that, the Dream will be an even more dangerous matchup for the Liberty.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.