Dream’s Angel Reese lets Valkyries know: ‘Y’all not taking this from us.’

It’s clear the Dream are the better team in the WNBA Finals. That doesn’t mean they’ll win the championship. It does mean the Valkyries will have to take it from them.

It’s hard to picture that happening when the Dream have Angel Reese on their side.

The Dream squandered a late lead during Game 1 in San Francisco, but they’ve dominated the Valkyries since then with Reese as the catalyst. Game 3 at State Farm Arena on Wednesday night turned into a party at Golden State’s expense.

The Dream never trailed during the 97-71 victory. More of the same awaits the Valkyries in Game 4 on Saturday unless they can figure out a way to slow down Reese and turn around the best-of-seven series.

Reese carried the Dream to victory in Game 2 and provided the spark whenever her team started to teeter in Game 3.

“I’m hype all the time and bringing the confidence to everybody,” Reese said. “’Y’all not taking this from us.’ In my heart, I’m not letting you take this from us. And I think it becomes contagious within the team, and they feel that confidence, too.

“That’s kind of been my mindset throughout the entire season, just being able to want it more than anybody else.”

Reese and Dream have looked hungry these past two games. The Valkyries have tried to keep up, but they can’t. The Dream have been faster, sharper and just plain better while taking control of the series.

Reese has led the effort. She had 30 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in Game 2. Reese had 21 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals in Game 3.

Reese’s play hasn’t always been pretty in this series. It has always been determined.

“Angel shows up in every game and she’s consistent with that, and she brings her teammates along,” Dream forward Naz Hillmon said. “I think that’s exactly what happened today from the beginning of the game. And then we even had a little bit of a lull in the third quarter and who was there, getting stops? It was Angel.

“We definitely follow suit.”

The Dream also got a boost from their home fans for the first time in the series. The sellout crowd of 17,099 included Atlanta arts and entertainment luminaries like Kerry Washington, Ludacris, T.I., Quavo and Tiffany.

The Valkyries appeared rattled early by the electric crowd and the Dream’s smothering defense. Golden State missed its first eight shots while committing two turnovers, including a pass to no one by star guard Gabby Williams.

But the Dream only led 6-0 because they were 2-of-11 from the field. The Valkyries blocked four of those shot attempts. The Dream’s offense wasn’t flowing.

Reese helped change that when she checked back into the game after a breather.

Reese stole the ball from Tiffany Hayes, leading to a 3-pointer by Hillmon. Reese’s 3-pointer put the Dream ahead 22-12. The Dream went ahead 37-26 in the second quarter when Reese recorded five points and a steal during a 10-3 run.

The Valkyries managed to get the deficit down to 46-40 at halftime. They tied the score twice early in the third quarter. The Dream created some breathing room with a 10-2 run that included four points, three rebounds and an assist from Reese.

“The first few possessions were a little sloppy,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said. “I was really close to using a timeout, but (the players) pulled together on their own and got it worked out. Cleaned it up themselves.