WNBA playoff winners and losers include Dream advancing, Valkyries' defense - USA Today
The first round of the WNBA playoffs continues to serve drama.
In the early game on Wednesday, Sept. 30, the Atlanta Dream swept the Washington Mystics out of the playoffs, 93-75. The Dream have not been to the semifinals since 2018. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the last three seasons. Atlanta will play the New York Liberty in the semifinals beginning Sunday.
Arike Ogunbowale scored a career-high 45 points to power the No. 7-seeded Dallas Wings to an 108-100 victory in overtime over the No. 2 seed Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday, Sept. 30, in Arlington, Texas, forcing a winner-take-all Game 3 in the WNBA playoffs on Friday.
Ogunbowale also set a WNBA playoffs record for points in game and the Wings scored the most points against defense-minded Valkyries all season.
Here are the winners and losers in Wednesday night's WNBA playoff games.
For the past three seasons, the Atlanta Dream have been eliminated in the first round, usually swept by the opposing team. That includes losing in the first round in 2025, after securing a No. 3 seed and a 30-win season.
"We definitely see the maturity in our team. I think last year, we would get big leads and then we would lose them, and then, we would lose the game," Dream guard Jordin Canada said postgame. "And I think this season, we really put an emphasis on making sure we're doing the things that we need to do to close out games."
"Obviously, basketball is a game of runs. A team is going to make their run, but we have to be poised. Coach talks about managing our emotions and valuing possessions, and I think we have taken that to another level this season."
After advancing past Washington, Atlanta is going to the semifinals for the first time since 2018. It will play the New York Liberty. The Dream won the regular-season series against the Liberty, 2-1.
Arike Ogunbowale had the greatest performance of her WNBA career on Wednesday night and further established herself as one of the best clutch shot-makers to ever play basketball. The Notre Dame product set a WNBA postseason scoring record by pouring in 45 points against the league’s No. 1 defense, powering the Wings to a victory in overtime.
Ogunbowale sank an absolutely ridiculous one-legged 3-pointer from the corner while drifting toward the sideline with 4.1 seconds remaining to tie the game up at the end of regulation. In overtime, Ogunbowale hit a 28-foot contested bank shot to give Dallas an early lead in the extra period.
She wasn’t finished though. With 1:46 remaining in overtime — and the score tied once again — Ogunbowale flushed another 3-pointer with Kiah Stokes’ hand in her face to give Dallas the lead, an advantage that would last through the final buzzer.
It was a bounce-back effort for the eighth-year pro after she scored 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting in Sunday’s Game 1 loss to Golden State.
"I felt like the first game, I wasn't aggressive enough,” Ogunbowale said. “I was really passive. I wanted to come out and be aggressive and find my teammates and make myself a scorer and that's what I did."
Ogunbowale led the way as Dallas scored more points than any other team has against Golden State this season. Her superb effort kept the Wings’ playoff hopes alive by forcing a winner-take-all Game 3 on Friday in San Francisco.
Many stars on the Dream get a lot of attention, but guard Jordin Canada deserves some praise for her year and postseason run. During the regular season, Canada averaged a career-high 7.3 assists per game (third in the WNBA) and 43.1% shooting from the floor. The Atlanta guard also ranked third in the league in steals per game with 1.8 takeaways per matchup. Her stellar year is translating to the postseason.
In back-to-back games against the Mystics, Canada had double-doubles. On Sept. 27, she finished with 10 rebounds, 10 assists, three rebounds and two steals. On Wednesday, Canada churned out 19 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, three steals, plus a playoff career-high four 3-pointers against Washington. It was Canada's ninth game with at least 10 points and 10 assists this season.
"(Jordin Canada) hit a lot of big baskets for us tonight. I just love playing with (Jordin) because she sees the floor so well. She pushed the pace. I mean, she's really, really our engine," Dream guard Allisha Gray said. "So we go as she (goes), but she plays so great, especially tonight, especially in that fourth quarter. We needed big buckets. She was down and ready."
After the Mystics conceded 27 points on 23 turnovers in the team’s Game 1 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Sunday, limiting turnovers was a point of emphasis for Washington heading into do-or-die Game 2. Yet, ball security was an issue again as the Mystics’ lack of playoff experience reared its head in their 93-75 loss to Atlanta.
On Wednesday, the Mystics, the youngest playoff team in WNBA playoff history, gave up 23 points on 19 turnovers in the first playoff game in Washington, since 2019. It was the difference in the game.
"Just disappointment, frustration for sure. It's not how we wanted our season to end," said Mystics guard Sonia Citron, who finished with a game-high 25 points and seven rebounds. "Yeah, so that's what's going through my mind right now."
Ahead of the Mystics’ Game 2 loss to the Dream, Washington head coach Sydney Johnson said Mystics center Shakira Austin was snubbed for WNBA Most Improved Player, which went to Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard.
“It was really disappointing. She averaged 17 (points), 9.5 (rebounds) and one block,” Johnson said. “I’m being told that every player in the history of the league who's averaged that has been an All-WNBA player. So I'm hoping that that's coming her way. I'll just be stunned if she doesn't get acknowledged.”
Austin, however, wasn’t able to make an impact on Game 2 as the veteran leader of the Mystics. She finished with nine points, shooting 3-of-9 from the field, 1-of-1 from the 3-point line and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. After a dominant year on the glass, Austin finished with three rebounds. She also had four turnovers.
The future is bright for the Mystics with their young core and they’ll likely be back in the postseason soon, but Austin will definitely want Game 2 back.
The Valkyries got lit up by the Dallas Wings on Wednesday, giving up a season-high 108 points. Golden State also allowed Dallas to shoot 52% from 3-point land, which is also a season-high for the Valkyries’ defense.
While Golden State was able to stifle Paige Bueckers and Jessica Shepard, they let Arike Ogunbowale pour in a WNBA playoff record 45 points, and allowed 39-year-old Alysha Clark to score a season-high 21 points off the bench.
“Like, we just don't give up 108 points. That's just completely uncalled for. I have to do better. I got to get better in terms of getting on them quicker,” Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase said. “Arike likes that step-back. We just have to make sure we take that away. And then once she's rolling, you know, we have to respond. We have to maybe throw more bodies at her. She did a hell of a job.”
Ogunbowale’s stellar performance and Golden State’s uncharacteristic mistakes on defense overshadowed the best game of Gabby Williams’ WNBA career. She scored a career-high 36 points on 12-of-23 shooting to go along with seven assists, six rebounds and four steals.
