What A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart must do that has never happened before to reach the WNBA Finals

The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries are both one win away from meeting in the WNBA Finals after taking 2-0 leads in their respective best-of-five semifinal series.

Angel Reese led the Dream to a 101-98 overtime win on Wednesday night, finishing with 23 points and seven rebounds. Jordin Canada also had an excellent game, recording 23 points, five rebounds and eight assists.

The New York Liberty suffered another defeat despite Breanna Stewart scoring 35 points on 11-of-21 shooting. Stewart was visibly frustrated after the game and claimed the officials told her they did not have a reset timeout when they did.

The Dream are likely to be joined by the Golden State Valkyries in the Finals after they beat the Las Vegas Aces 83-81. 37-year-old Tiffany Hayes turned back the clock with 21 points in just 17 minutes.

The Aces are now close to elimination despite entering the playoffs as one of the favourites to win the championship. Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson has scored 24 points in both semifinal games, but she may need a monster performance to keep the series alive.

What A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart must do to reach the WNBA Finals

The New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces must now do something that has never happened in WNBA history. No team has ever come back from 2-0 down in a best-of-five semifinal series to win 3-2 and advance to the Finals.

The good news for both teams is that Games 3 and 4 of their respective series will be played at home. That gives them a strong opportunity to level the series and force a decisive Game 5.

However, the 2018 Phoenix Mercury are the only team to ever win Games 3 and 4 after falling 2-0 down, winning both home games before losing Game 5. Meanwhile, no WNBA team has ever lost the first two games of the Finals and then levelled the series at 2-2.

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