Jordin Canada scored 25 points on Oct. 4 as the Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 92-82, taking a 1-0 lead in their WNBA semifinal series. Gabby Williams also scored 25, leading the Golden State Valkyries past the Las Vegas Aces 71-60 for a 1-0 lead. Those scoring performances set the pace in both openers. Sabrina Ionescu scored 27 for New York, while A’ja Wilson had 24 for Las Vegas.
Players Set the Pace
The semifinals feature two best-of-five series: Dream against Liberty and Aces against Valkyries. USA TODAY Sports called former LSU women’s basketball star Angel Reese an impact player in Game 1, but the team page didn’t give her statistics or identify which team she played for in the matchup.
Atlanta came into the series with a 30-14 overall record and a 15-5 mark in Eastern Conference games. New York stood at 26-18 overall and 13-7 in the conference. Atlanta led the Eastern Conference with 11.9 fast-break points per game.
The Liberty averaged 10.2 made 3-pointers per game, fourth in the WNBA, and shot 34.8% from beyond the arc. Marine Johannes led New York with 2.1 made 3-pointers per game, shooting 37.9%. Atlanta averaged 9.0 made 3-pointers per game, matching New York’s average allowed.
New York scored 89.6 points per game, 5.1 more than Atlanta allowed. Rhyne Howard averaged 17.7 points, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals for the Dream. Allisha Gray averaged 17.0 points across her last 10 games. Breanna Stewart averaged 20.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists for New York, while Jonquel Jones averaged 1.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Two Teams’ Recent Results
Atlanta went 9-1 in its last 10 games, putting up 91.4 points, 35.5 rebounds, 21.7 assists, 10.1 steals and 3.3 blocks per game. The Dream shot 44.4% from the field during that stretch. Their opponents averaged 77.6 points. New York went 6-4, averaging 86.2 points, 37.1 rebounds, 20.0 assists, 6.0 steals and 5.0 blocks per game. The Liberty shot 44.9%, and opponents averaged 81.3 points.
The Aces held a 31-13 overall record and went 17-6 against Western Conference teams. Golden State finished 32-12 overall and 15-8 against Western Conference opponents, including a 3-3 record in one-possession games. Las Vegas ranked sixth in the WNBA in paint scoring, averaging 39.8 points per game; Wilson supplied 12.5 of those points. The Valkyries made 10.4 3-pointers per game, 1.6 more than Las Vegas allowed. The Aces made 8.7 per game, 0.7 more than Golden State allowed.
Williams averaged 14.4 points and 1.6 steals for Golden State. Janelle Salaun averaged 12.7 points over the Valkyries’ last 10 games. Wilson averaged 26.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 blocks for Las Vegas. Jackie Young averaged 20.2 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 46.3% over the past 10 games.
Game 2s and Reported Availability
Golden State went 8-2 over its last 10 games, averaging 82.7 points, 37.3 rebounds, 19.4 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.5%. Opponents scored 73.8 points per game. Las Vegas also went 8-2, averaging 92.7 points, 31.5 rebounds, 20.7 assists, 9.1 steals and 4.4 blocks per game. The Aces shot 49.1%, and their opponents averaged 80.4 points.
Atlanta listed Brionna Jones as out for the season with a leg injury and Gray as day to day with a hand injury. New York listed Satou Sabally as out for the season with a head injury. Golden State listed Iliana Rupert as out for the season because of pregnancy. Las Vegas listed Janiah Barker and NaLyssa Smith as out for the season with leg injuries. Dana Evans was day to day with a knee injury; Stephanie Talbot and Jewell Loyd were day to day with leg injuries.
The AP previews listed Wednesday’s Game 2s in College Park, Georgia, at 7:30 p.m. EDT and in San Francisco at 9:30 p.m. EDT. The listed line was Dream -3.5 with an over/under of 171.5, and Valkyries -1.5 with an over/under of 157.5. The supplied coverage reports player statistics, team records, injuries and game lines. It doesn’t provide figures on player pay, team revenues, ownership, government spending or union activity.