Playoff tempers boiled over during the Atlanta Dream’s sweep of the New York Liberty, and the officials had a busy night. The Dream closed the series with an 85-83 win in Game 3 on Oct. 9, which sent them to their first WNBA Finals since 2013.
Almost a week later, Sophie Cunningham still can’t get past one sequence. The Indiana Fever guard said on her No Hesitation podcast that Dream forward Angel Reese should have been hit with a technical foul for chasing Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu down the floor. A playoff technical carries a $500 fine, and Reese skipped it on that play.
The moment came with 5:57 left in the second quarter and Atlanta up 31-24. Ionescu had just been whistled for an offensive foul after a hard screen on Isobel Borlase. As Ionescu walked away, Reese followed her and told her, “You can’t do that.” No technical came.
Cunningham co-hosts the show with NBA skills coach Drew Hanlen, who steered the conversation toward both moments. She opened with praise, saying she respects that Reese has her teammates’ backs. Then she got to the point.
“If you’re going to chase someone down the court and get in someone’s ear, that should be a tech. Anytime. That should be a tech,” Cunningham said. “It’s going to be a tech in the regular season. Now, if she were to stay on her side and just kind of yell and say something, I’m all for that. But the fact that she didn’t get a tech on that, I think that’s absolutely insane.”
She was not alone. ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said on the broadcast that Reese walking down the floor “should be a T.”
Less than three minutes later, Jonquel Jones swatted Reese’s drive into the stands; the two stood chest to chest, and both drew technicals. It was the only double technical of the night, as well as Reese’s second of the playoffs. Had the earlier moment been called, that second whistle could have meant an ejection.
Cunningham felt that whistle went too far. She called it “good playoff basketball” and said she wished neither player had been hit. Her real issue was the gap between the two calls.
“So it’s just so weird and inconsistent,” Cunningham said. Reese paid $500 for the Jones technical, yet the chase down the floor cost her nothing.
Whistles were not scarce, either. Atlanta committed 22 fouls to New York’s 20, and still the one moment Cunningham keeps circling went unpunished. She flagged two more plays as well. Cunningham pointed to Reese bumping Breanna Stewart to the floor after a play ended, then diving at Ionescu’s legs for a loose ball.
Cunningham gave Reese credit first, noting she plays hard and goes after the ball. “You can’t tackle someone in the air,” she said. The Fever star called both plays dangerous and asked, “Is that not weird?”
What Sophie Cunningham’s Complaint Means For Angel Reese In The Finals
Reese now carries two technicals into the Finals. Four in the playoffs triggers a one-game suspension. That is a thin cushion for a player averaging close to 4 personal fouls per game this postseason.
Angel Reese is not a role player the Dream can afford to lose. She put up 22 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in the clincher, and she won Defensive Player of the Year in her first season in Atlanta. A suspension would hit the Dream right where they are strongest.
The opponent only raises the stakes. Golden State is the second seed and swept the Las Vegas Aces in three games. Cunningham expects a dogfight and praised the Valkyries’ team defense. Game 1 is Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco, with Game 2 on Monday.
Cunningham’s complaint was about consistency, not about Reese’s fire. If the Finals crew lets her play on the edge, Atlanta keeps its edge too. If the whistle tightens, one more chase down the floor could cost the Dream their Defensive Player of the Year in the middle of a series. Game 1 will show which version of the officiating shows up.