The Atlanta Dream closed out the Washington Mystics 93-75 on Wednesday night, completing a two-game sweep of their best-of-three WNBA first-round series and delivering the franchise's first playoff series victory since 2016. Atlanta now moves on to face the No. 1 seed New York Liberty in the semifinals, with Game 1 of that series set for Sunday, October 4.

Allisha Gray led five Dream players in double figures with 22 points, and point guard Jordin Canada added 19 points and a game-high 11 assists as Atlanta built a 24-17 first-quarter lead and never trailed. Rhyne Howard scored 15, and midseason addition Angel Reese finished with 15 points, continuing the strong two-way play that has defined her first season in Atlanta since being traded from the Chicago Sky this past April. Naz Hillmon chipped in 10 off the bench.

Washington got 25 points from Sonia Citron and a 15-point, 16-rebound effort from Kiki Iriafen, and briefly threatened late in the third quarter when a 14-2 run trimmed Atlanta's lead to three. The Dream answered immediately with a 13-0 surge of their own, according to a Fox Sports box score of the game, and Atlanta outscored Washington 28-17 in the fourth to close it out comfortably.

A Decade in the Making

The sweep ends a stretch of playoff frustration that had become something of a running storyline around the franchise, which hadn't advanced past the first round since 2016 despite several appearances. It also validates a front-office gamble from April, when Atlanta sent two future first-round picks to Chicago for two-time All-Star Reese, a move the league's own site called one of the biggest transactions of the offseason.

For the first time since 2016, the Atlanta Dream have won a playoff series.

Atlanta entered this postseason as the No. 3 seed after a late-season push, and the sweep of Washington, the No. 6 seed, was expected on paper but had tripped up Dream teams in years past. Gray, Canada and Howard have formed the backbone of Atlanta's roster for several seasons, and ClutchPoints noted that Reese's rebounding and interior scoring gave the group a dimension it had previously lacked in the postseason.

The Liberty, who finished with the league's best record and are seeking to defend their title, swept their own first-round series and will be heavily favored entering the semifinal matchup. But Atlanta's locker room has pointed to the way this group has steadily built chemistry all season, per CBS Sports' coverage of the Dream's playoff run, as reason to believe they can make this a competitive series rather than a formality.

Game 1 of the Liberty-Dream semifinal is scheduled for Sunday in New York, with the winner advancing to the WNBA Finals.