Angel Reese responded from two poor performances to help Atlanta force a Game 7 in the WNBA Finals

ATLANTA (AP) — After poor performances in each of the last two games and with the season on the line, Angel Reese found her form again.

The Atlanta Dream forward scored 15 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and had six assists in an 80-69 victory over Golden State on Thursday to help force the first Game 7 in WNBA history. The rebounding total vaulted her to 78 for the series, a record for the most by an individual player in a WNBA Finals.

She did it in spite of a game where she struggled with efficiency, shooting 5 of 18 from the floor.

“It was just a mental mindset of me just being able to go out there and just try to lead the team as best I can,” Reese said. “No matter how ugly it can be, as long as we came out with the win, I just wanted to do whatever it took.”

Reese's performances have been a bellwether for the Dream's overall success. She has averaged 22 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in Atlanta's three wins, while plummeting to 9.7 points, 12 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in the losses. The two previous games were by far her worst of the postseason, shooting 4 of 20 in the two losses.

Despite struggling from 3-point range, she did knock down 2 of 8 attempts, improving the Dream to 16-0 this year when she makes at least one from beyond the arc.

"It's always frustrating especially for 3s," Reese said. “They keep telling me to shoot and I don't like when I'm not making the shots. But my teammates still trust and pass it to me, so I am also really, really grateful for always putting confidence into me.”

Reese spent more time playing away from the basket, a change that opened her up as a facilitator and created a quicker offensive flow.

“We played with a different spacing and pace,” Atlanta coach Karl Smesko said. “In truth, it's how we are supposed to play. It's just getting back to our fundamentals of how we like to play offense.”

Reese bookended the afternoon with key assists. Atlanta's first two baskets of the game — 3-pointers by Allisha Gray and Naz Hillmon — were both via assists from Reese, and she made the pass for Gray's dagger 3-pointer after Golden State trimmed the lead to eight with under a minute remaining.

“We know how they've been trying to play Angel, really crowd her,” Hillmon said. “But she's got so many skillsets, and being a playmaker is one of them. She makes those reads every single night, and she found the open people today.”

Atlanta is aiming to secure its first championship in franchise history, and Reese is trying to claim another big title after winning the 2023 NCAA Championship with LSU.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese (5) looks to pass past Golden State Valkyries' Juste Jocyte during the first half of Game 6 of the WNBA basketball finals on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese reacts during the first half of Game 6 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese reacts after the Dream won Game 6 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese reacts during the second half of Game 6 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese reacts after scoring a three-pointer during the second half of Game 6 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court filed an order Thursday that will keep the two dozen players involved in an eligibility case in that state available to play for teams across the country, with the start of college basketball season beginning next week.

The order kept in place a ruling from earlier this month, when the state's high court stayed a lower-court ruling that would have declared the players ineligible.

The NCAA is the defendant in a case filed by lead plaintiff Filip Borovicanin of Xavier, which opens its season on Monday. Other basketball players in the case include Gonzaga's Javon Bennett, Cincinnati's MJ Collins and Auburn's Kolby King.

The NCAA legal office sent a memo to its members late Thursday saying it was “deeply disappointed” in the latest legal outcome from a saga that upended the start of football season and is now bleeding into the start of basketball.

"Every minute played by an ineligible player is an opportunity deprived to an eligible student-athlete — sometimes in the pinnacle events of a season," the letter said. “And it provides a significant competitive advantage to schools rostering experienced players who exhausted their eligibility.”

The court became involved in the college eligibility issue when it was asked to determine the legality of an executive order issued earlier this month by Gov. Mike DeWine that granted athletes in Ohio who graduated from high school in 2022 a fifth year of college eligibility in defiance of NCAA rules.

Part of the case involved both parties asking the court to weigh in on the Borovicanin case.

The NCAA then sued DeWine in federal court, saying his order made it “impossible for all schools to compete on a level playing field.”

Earlier this year, the NCAA passed a rule granting players five seasons of eligibility, but it did not include the high school class of '22 in the new rule. That, in turn, has triggered dozens of lawsuits across the country and created chaos as coaches try to finalize their rosters.

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FILE - Utah State guard MJ Collins, who has since transferred to Cincinnati, celebrates during the second half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Villanova, Friday, March 20, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

FILE - Butler guard Kolby King (12), who has since transferred to Auburn, dribbles during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against St. John's in the quarterfinals of the Big East Conference tournament, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith, File)

FILE - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine talks with former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel while standing on the sideline prior to the start of an NFL football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns, Oct. 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Kirk Irwin, File)

FILE - Dayton guard Javon Bennett (0), who has since transferred to Gonzaga, brings the ball up the court against BYU during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

FILE - Xavier's Filip Borovicanin, right, drives on UConn's Jayden Ross (23) during second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Big East basketball tournament Thursday, March 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)