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Angel Reese blames herself after a dramatic falloff in Dream's Game 4 loss in the WNBA Finals

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Cite

Odum, C. (2026, October 24). Angel Reese blames herself after a dramatic falloff in Dream's Game 4 loss in the WNBA Finals. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/angel-reese-blames-herself-after-a-dramatic-falloff-in-dream-s-game-4-loss-in-the-wnba-finals/article_0ee3612f-b869-51cd-a468-f0fd982a6720.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-24 · by Charles Odum

Quick Summary

In Game 4 of the WNBA Finals between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries, Angel Reese struggled with only eight points on 2-of-12 shooting while committing six turnovers, leading to an Atlanta loss by a score of 67-62. Center Kiah Stokes of the Valkyries credited her defensive strategy against Reese for disrupting Atlanta’s offensive rhythm. Despite efforts in the fourth quarter, Atlanta could not overcome the deficit and now trails 2-2 heading into Game 5 on Monday.
Written by AI on 2026-10-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 25, 2026, the Golden State Valkyries have tied the WNBA Finals series against the Atlanta Dream at 2-2 after winning Game 4 by a score of 67-62. Angel Reese struggled in this game with only eight points and nine rebounds, failing to achieve a double-double for the first time in the series. Despite Allisha Gray playing through an injured left hand, the Valkyries' coach Natalie Nakase's decision to start veteran guard Tiffany Hayes proved effective. This victory allowed Golden State to regain home-court advantage for Game 5 on Monday night at their arena known as "Ballhalla."

Written for “Valkyries Even Series with Dream” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Valkyries Even Series with Dream
Sports · 9 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 31 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 64/100
Fox News
Hedges 3 of 38 claims Outlet record 68/100
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 67/100
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 37 claims Outlet record 66/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 33 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Angel Reese's performance and self-assessment after Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, while Article B discusses predictions for Game 5 based on the outcome of Game 4.”
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different games in the WNBA Finals series, with Article A covering Game 4 and Article B covering Game 5.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 21 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different games in the series; Article A covers Game 4, while Article B covers a later game where Reese helped force a Game 7.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
9
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 11445 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Charles Odum
28 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Even after the Valkyries showed fight by attempting a second-half comeback, Nakase was still struggling to comprehend the lackadaisical start so she could make sure it’s not repeated in Saturday night’s decisive game.
🔮 There were concerns the early tipoff would have the teams playing the potentially decisive Finals game in a half-empty arena because of fans having work and school obligations.
🔮 While Reese blamed herself, Gabby Williams gave credit to Golden State’s defense.
🔮 The Falcons’ defense couldn’t slow quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears’ offense.
🔮 ATLANTA (AP) — Caleb Williams completed his first 12 passes in his return from a hamstring injury, D’Andre Swift ran for two touchdowns and the Chicago Bears beat the Atlanta Falcons 31-23 on Sunday.
🔮 Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) saw its streaks of nine straight wins over Auburn and 53 consecutive wins over unranked teams come to an end in a loss that also will end the Bulldogs’ short one-week stay atop the AP Top 25.
🔮 ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — One week after showing off its impressive depth in a tight win at Alabama, No. 1 Georgia is expected to have starting running back Nate Frazier return for Saturday’s visit from Auburn.
🔮 Penix was expected to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday.
🔮 When asked if Penix will be able to start on Sunday for the Falcons (2-3) against Chicago, Stefanski said he would have a better idea later in the week.
🔮 Penix overcame a slow start to pass for 240 yards and a touchdown but could only watch from the bench with a towel on his head as the Ravens put the game away.
Also by Charles Odum
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 28 articles by Charles Odum →

Topics

ATLANTA Dream Golden State’s Valkyries the WNBA Finals

Subjects

Reese PERSON · 10× ATLANTA GPE · 6× Dream ORG · 3× Golden State’s ORG · 2× Valkyries ORG · 2× Angel Reese PERSON · 1× Kiah Stokes PERSON · 1× Stokes PERSON · 1× the Atlanta Dream’s ORG · 1× the Golden State Valkyries ORG · 1×

Narrative

Reese was held to eight points, making only 2 of 12 shots from the field, and grabbed nine rebounds in the Atlanta Dream’s 67-62 loss to the Golden State Valkyries that evened the series at 2-2.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-25
🔮 While Reese blamed herself, Gabby Williams gave credit to Golden State’s defense.

Claims (22 extracted, 0 hedged)

ATLANTA (AP) — Angel Reese blamed herself for a poor performance in Game 4 on Saturday after opening the WNBA Finals with three consecutive double-doubles. asserted
Reese → blame → doubles
Reese was held to eight points, making only 2 of 12 shots from the field, and grabbed nine rebounds in the Atlanta Dream’s 67-62 loss to the Golden State Valkyries that evened the series at 2-2. asserted
that → hold → 2
“I think it was me, I think I rushed a lot on my shots and I didn’t take my time and finish around the basket like I’ve been doing the last three games,” Reese said. asserted
Reese → think → games
“It happens and I’m just looking forward to the next game and just do it.” asserted
I → happen → it
Reese blocked three shots but had six of Atlanta’s 17 turnovers. asserted
Reese → block → turnovers
Center Kiah Stokes led Golden State’s defense against Reese. asserted
Stokes → lead → Reese
“She’s been the head of their snake all series, so for me it was just trying to make every look that she had of the basket difficult,” Stokes said. asserted
Stokes → try → basket
“It’s a tough job, but I think being our best defensive big, I’ve got to own up to that challenge. asserted
I → ’ → challenge
Like I said, it was trying to just make her take difficult shots. asserted
her → say → shots
While leading Atlanta to wins in Games 2 and 3, Reese became only the second player, following A’Ja Wilson, to have at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive games in the WNBA Finals. asserted
Reese → lead → Finals
While Reese blamed herself, Gabby Williams gave credit to Golden State’s defense. asserted
Williams → blame → defense
“I’m sorry if I sound redundant, but we just picked up our ball pressure,” Williams said when asked the key to the Valkyries’ success against Reese and the Dream. asserted
Williams → ’m → Reese
“I think we’re a bit more connected today, and that gives us our energy.” Atlanta’s three lowest-scoring games of the season have come against Golden State, including twice in this series. asserted
games → think → series
Reese said the Dream will focus on “just getting back to who we are, our identity, being the enforcers and just knowing who we are” heading into Game 5 on Monday. asserted
we → say → Monday
Reese said being outscored 26-15 in the second quarter was devastating for Atlanta. asserted
outscored → say → Atlanta
The Dream tried to rally and won the fourth quarter 17-13, but it was too late. asserted
it → try → quarter
“We applied a lot of pressure, but we can’t wait until the second half to do it,” Reese said. asserted
Reese → apply → it
Rhyne Howard led Atlanta with 19 points. asserted
Howard → lead → points
Jordin Canada and Isobel Borlase each had 10. asserted
Canada → have → 10
“We knew they were going to come out aggressive, we know they were going to come out with a different mentality,” Howard said. asserted
Howard → know → mentality
“If you’re asking us what they did, I would say it was about the lack of effort on our part.” asserted
it → ask → part
The Valkyries took a 72-54 advantage in shots from the field. asserted
Valkyries → take → field
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