How Angel Reese is taking starring role in WNBA playoff debut - ESPN

Editor's note: This story originally ran Friday morning. On Friday night, Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty to earn their first trip to the WNBA Finals since 2013.

ATLANTA — Angel Reese was playing in just her fourth WNBA playoff game. But with 6.1 seconds left in overtime, her Atlanta Dream squad clinging to a one-point lead and the New York Liberty looking to foul, she knew exactly what to do.

Reese raced to the sideline and whispered in teammate DeWanna Bonner's ear to inbound the ball in the backcourt — which is only allowed in the final two minutes — so Reese could kill some clock.

The end of Wednesday's Game 2 semifinal was marred by controversy over why New York didn't call its final reset timeout, but it overshadowed Reese's sneaky and savvy move that preceded the ordeal: She ran 1.8 seconds off the clock and drew the sixth and final foul on hot-shooting Liberty rookie Marine Fauthoux.

Reese converted both free throws, Breanna Stewart missed a last-ditch heave, the buzzer sounded and Reese and Bonner shared a long embrace on the court. With the win, the Dream secured a 2-0 series lead in the best-of-five series.

The play might not even make Reese's highlight reel from the night as Atlanta won its ninth consecutive game. She scored a playoff career-high 23 points, had a team-best six of them in overtime and added seven rebounds and two blocks, including an emphatic volleyball-esque rejection on Sabrina Ionescu in the fourth quarter. In one memorable sequence in the second period, Reese made a 3-pointer before stealing the ball seconds later, driving back down the floor and converting an and-1 sequence that gave the Dream the lead.

With contributions obvious and subtle, Reese has helped