Even against Golden State’s top-ranked defense, Angel Reese looked unstoppable as the Atlanta Dream made a comeback in Game 2 to equalize the series against the Golden State Valkyries. The forward dropped a massive 30 points and 16 rebounds in the 79-65 win over the Valkyries. But one of the Valkyries’ star defenders saw something else.
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Kiah Stokes, a three-time WNBA champion, has been one of the Golden State Valkyries’ defensive anchors all season. She was asked what made guarding Angel Reese so difficult during the press conference after Game 2 at the Chase Center. The Valkyries star offered a candid take, per the conference posted to YouTube by NBC Sports Bay Area.
“She does a great job of taking advantage of mismatches,” said Stokes. “So I was really just trying to stay with her when she started to get going. But she just has a great motor. She works really hard. She makes it difficult not to foul her. And like you said, she can finish with her right and her left hand. So for me, it’s just trying to make her score over me.”
Stokes is an 11-season veteran of the game, with two WNBA All-Defensive Second Team nominations to her name. Reese is relatively new to the game, with 2026 being her third WNBA season, and this being her very first postseason appearance. But the young Dream forward is showing her battle-tested skills as she powers past most defenders to reach the net.
Angel Reese was the most fouled player in Game 2, being sent to the free-throw line a total of 11 times. Of these, she drained nine, shooting with an 81.8% accuracy from the charity stripe. But even apart from that, Reese had an incredible Game 2, shooting 62.5% from the field and making the one three-pointer she attempted all game.
With the score tied at 42 and 4:53 left in the third quarter, Angel Reese drove for the basket off a pass from Allisha Gray and faced both Kaitlyn Chen and Kiah Stokes. But the Defensive Player of the Year powered through both to sink a layup with her left hand, though she is primarily right-handed. While the cameras caught some frustration from Reese in Q3, she scored 15 points in the first half before going on a nine-point rampage in the third, the same as the entire Valkyries squad scored in that quarter.
Stokes emphasized multiple factors beyond mismatches, even admitting Reese’s prowess in Game 2.
“She [Angel Reese] had a great game today. So we just gotta get back to the drawing board and see what else we can come up with.”
Reese’s performance, backed by Allisha Gray and Jordin Canada, has made the series score 1-1 as the teams move to the State Farm Arena for Games 3 & 4. The Valkyries will really have to figure out how to hold back Angel Reese if they want to win the next two games, where the Dream will have a home-court advantage as well. And the answer might be right in front of their eyes.
Kiah Stokes causes major problems for Angel Reese in the postseason
Kiah Stokes has been an integral part of the Valkyries’ defense in both the regular season and the postseason, and she is one of the reasons Natalie Nakase’s squad boasts the highest regular-season defensive rating. Both games have been defensive battles, with the Dream’s defense matching Golden State’s intensity with two low-scoring games.
As both teams hunt their first WNBA championship, Stokes seems to be the only player on the Valkyries roster who can keep Reese from scoring, forcing her to take difficult shots over the 6-foot-3 Golden State big. After Game 2, Yahoo Sports’ Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr. discussed Stokes’ role in the 2026 postseason.
“Quick shoutout to Kiah Stokes. This defensive run has been kinda nuts for her,” said Duncan
The video showed a graphic outlining how many shots WNBA All-Stars have made while Stokes has been guarding them this postseason. The graphic showed that Stokes blocked five of A’ja Wilson’s shots in round 2 against the Las Vegas Aces, holding Wilson to 34.5 %. It also showed that Stokes held Reese to 22.2% shooting while blocking four shots over the two finals games so far.
“None of them have had a good time against Kiah Stokes when she’s had to guard them. This has been an incredible defensive season for Kiah; this has been an even more insane postseason for her,” Duncan added.
The 2026 regular season saw Stokes average 4.5 defensive rebounds per game, while adding 0.6 steals and 1.7 blocks in each of the 43 regular season games she played. Her stats improved in the playoffs, averaging 6.8 defensive rebounds to go with 2.5 blocks per game in eight games.
The Valkyries will need to mobilize Stokes better to keep Angel Reese in check, as the roaring crowds of Atlanta will be ruthless in their support. Coach Nakase’s stifling defense will need to show itself as the Valkyries attempt to curb the scoring core of the Dream in Game 3 on October 21, or they might have to bid adieu to their second-season title hopes.