The game between the Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream was expected to be a fiery one, and it did not disappoint, with 14 fouls given to each team. The Gateway Center Arena saw no shortage of action, as the number four Dream edged past the league-leading Lynx 89-81, led by a record-breaking Angel Reese performance. Lynx HC Cheryl Reeve minced no words as she gave her thoughts on this physically charged game, reflecting on the style of play by the Dream.

“We gotta handle physicality. We have to toughen up, and we have to exploit the physicality. We aren’t exploiting it. We are being guarded in a way that should be illegal, but we are not putting the referees in a position that they see it. So you can’t fade away; you have to have a power way about you, right?” Reeve said post-game, which was posted to the Minnesota Lynx YouTube channel.

“You’ve got to go with force wherever you are going. If you’re able to do that, you’re able to play against physicality and have success. So these two games were good for us for sure.”

Cheryl Reeve’s comments come after the Lynx’s six-game winning streak was compromised by a loss to the Golden State Valkyries on August 24, and this has snowballed into another loss against the Dream. They finished with a score of 66 against the Valkyries and 81 against the Dream. The Lynx seem to be experiencing a scoring slump, as these scores are lower than their season average of 91.6, the second-highest in the league after the Indiana Fever.

The Dream-Lynx game saw a staggering 28 personal fouls committed by both teams. Just to add some context, this is considerably higher than even the highest average of personal fouls committed by a team this season, which is the Connecticut Sun at 22.5, per StatMuse.

There was even an altercation involving Angel Reese and Courtney Williams in the second quarter of the game, as Williams tried to grab the ball from Reese, with Natasha Howard coming in from behind to defend the Dream forward. A heated exchange followed afterwards, with players from both sides stepping in to prevent further escalation between Reese and Williams.

While neither player was given a foul, Reese had previously come dangerously close to not playing this game at all. Her previous outing against the Portland Fire saw her draw her eighth technical foul of the season, which would trigger an automatic one-game suspension. Fortunately for her, after Dream head coach Karl Smesko appealed the decision, the technical was rescinded.

Another display of the Dream-Lynx game’s physicality was witnessed when the Lynx’s Olivia Miles also took a hard fall in the final minute of the game as she made a layup. It was a frustrating night for Miles and Co., as they struggled to contain Atlanta’s offense. The Lynx trailed the Dream by as much as 20 points at one point during the game.

Exposed to the physical play by this Atlanta team, the Lynx under Cheryl Reeve struggled with their shooting efficiency as well. This can be gauged from the fact that the Lynx’s second-highest scorer of the night, Naphessa Collier, could only manage to convert just five of her 15 shots from the field, finishing with 17 points on the night. Miles finished as the top scorer for the Lynx with 21 points and added five rebounds as well.

On the other hand, it was a fantastic night for Reese and Co. as they look to lock down that fourth seed, giving them home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Angel Reese Makes WNBA History As The Lynx Struggled To Find Their Rhythm

For Angel Reese, the records keep piling on. Reese achieved her 29th double-double of the season, surpassing the WNBA record for most double-doubles in a season after finishing the night with 15 points and eleven rebounds. Reese has now surpassed Alyssa Thomas’s record of 28 double-doubles, which she set in the 2023 season.

Before the Lynx matchup, Reese reflected on the confidence she always had in her game.

“I dream so big, and I think there’s no dream that is so big. So many people write me off. So many people have doubted me. Coming into the league and being the seventh pick, nobody thought I was gonna be able to be in this position, but I knew. And the people in my circle knew,” Reese said, per USA Today.

For Atlanta, Reese’s form could be the X-factor heading into the playoffs. Earlier in the season, on August 24, Reese grabbed a historic 26 rebounds in a game against the Los Angeles Sparks. This shattered Chamique Holdsclaw’s 23-year-old record of 24 rebounds set way back in 2003.

On that same night, she broke the WNBA single-season total rebounds record, eclipsing A’ja Wilson’s 2024 mark of 451 rebounds. Reese currently also holds that record, with 474 rebounds this season.

With Reese’s remarkable performance, the Dream handed the Lynx their second consecutive loss of the season, and only their ninth of the season. The Lynx have suffered back-to-back losses only once this season, back in the first week of July, when they lost to the Sun and the Liberty. Minnesota, at 31-9, is still ahead of the second-seed Valkyries as we head into the FIBA break.

Cheryl Reeve and the Lynx take on the New York Liberty, and the Dream face the Sun after the FIBA break.