Dream vs. Sparks: Angel Reese Breaks the WNBA Single-Game and Season Rebounding Records in a 78-71 Win

Some players chase rebounds. Angel Reese collects them like they owe her money, and on Monday night she collected enough to rewrite two pages of the WNBA record book.

Reese hauled in 26 rebounds, a new WNBA single-game record, and along the way she also took over the league's season record for rebounds. Oh, and Atlanta won, too, holding off the Los Angeles Sparks 78-71 at crypto.com Arena. According to the Associated Press, the old single-game mark was Chamique Holdsclaw's 24, set on May 23, 2003, for Washington. Reese now has 458 rebounds this season, seven more than the record A'ja Wilson set in 2024, and Atlanta still has six regular-season games to play.

Not Exactly a Coronation Until the Fourth

For a record night, the game itself was a grind. Neither team shot well from deep, the lead changed hands eight times, and Los Angeles took a 37-36 edge into halftime after winning the second quarter 22-16.

The first quarter swung back and forth. The Sparks used an 8-0 run to go up 13-9, and the Dream answered with eight straight of their own to retake a 17-13 lead on the way to a 20-15 advantage after one.

Atlanta came out of the locker room with purpose. Per the AP, the Dream opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run, and they won the period 26-18 to lead 62-55. Then came the decisive stretch: a 12-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters, turning a 59-55 game into a 71-55 lead, Atlanta's largest of the night.

The Sparks did not fold. Los Angeles responded with eight unanswered points to cut it to 71-63, and Ariel Atkins drilled a 27-foot 3 with 2:44 left to make it 75-68. But Reese made a free throw at 1:08, and with 13.9 seconds remaining she scored on a layup off a Jordin Canada pass for a 78-69 lead. That bucket, the AP noted, clinched her 27th double-double of the season, the most in the WNBA.

The Turning Point: That 12-0 Bridge

Up 59-55 late in the third, Atlanta scored the last three points of the quarter and the first nine of the fourth. It was the only stretch all night when either team created real separation, and it gave the Dream enough cushion to survive a late Sparks surge. Without it, Reese's record night might have come with an asterisk of a loss.

Reese, Gray and Howard

Reese finished with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting, and nobody will remember the shooting. They will remember the 26 rebounds, 18 of them on the defensive end and eight on the offensive glass, plus three steals and three assists in 38 minutes. The rest of the Dream combined for 22 rebounds. She played through foul trouble, too, finishing with five.

Teammate Allisha Gray captured what it looked like from up close. "I'm just in awe watching her rebound," Gray said. "That's a talent."

Gray was no sidekick herself. She led Atlanta with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, added six assists, and finished a game-best plus-20. The AP added that her 247 made field goals this season are an Atlanta single-season record.

Rhyne Howard scored 18 points, and the AP said she went over 3,000 points for her career. It was a choppy shooting night for her at 7 of 21, including 2 of 12 from 3-point range, but she hit a key 6-footer off a Gray assist with 4:27 left to push the lead to 73-63. Naz Hillmon added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and Canada chipped in nine.

For Los Angeles, Nneka Ogwumike was excellent with 27 points and 16 rebounds on 11-of-19 shooting. Cameron Brink came off the bench for 15 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and three steals, and Dearica Hamby also scored 15. Ariel Atkins added 10 points and six assists.

The Sparks actually did a lot right. They blocked seven shots, made 16 of 18 free throws and won the turnover battle, committing 11 to Atlanta's 15. What they could not do was keep Reese off the glass. Every missed Atlanta shot felt like a coin flip that Reese had rigged, and the Dream's 15 offensive rebounds turned a mediocre shooting night into a win.

Stats That Matter

• 26 rebounds. A new WNBA single-game record for Reese, topping Holdsclaw's 24.
• 458 rebounds. Reese's season total, a new WNBA single-season record with games to spare.
• 48-32 on the glass. Atlanta's 15 offensive rebounds fueled a 48-38 edge in the paint.
• 6 of 29 vs. 3 of 18. Both teams struggled from deep; it was a paint-and-boards game.
• Plus-20. Gray's game-high margin while leading Atlanta in scoring.

What It Means

Atlanta improved to 25-13, including 13-7 on the road, and has won four straight games, every one of them away from home. The Dream also finished a 3-0 season sweep of Los Angeles, which included a 124-88 rout in this same building four nights earlier, when the Dream set a franchise record for points in a game and Reese went 9 for 9 from the field. Per the AP, the Sparks have now lost nine straight games in the series.

Los Angeles fell to 13-25 and 6-13 at home. The Sparks had snapped a six-game skid with a win over Connecticut two nights earlier, but they could not build on it.

The Dream return to Atlanta to host Portland on Friday. The Sparks host Washington on Friday.

Final Word

There is a moment in every great sports documentary where the narrator slows down and the camera lingers. Monday was that moment for Reese. Holdsclaw's 24 stood for more than two decades. Wilson's season mark lasted two years. Reese broke both in one night, in a building where she had been feasting all week. Next on the list is Alyssa Thomas' WNBA double-double record of 28, set in 2023. After Monday, Reese needs one more to tie it.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Records and postgame quote as reported by the Associated Press.