Gabby Williams scored 28 of her game-high 30 points in the second half to lead the Golden State Valkyries to a 68-63 win over the Atlanta Dream in game seven of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Finals on Saturday in San Francisco, California. The victory gave the West Coast franchise a championship in only the second year of its existence. Williams was named Finals Most Valuable Player.
The decisive stretch came late in a game that was largely a defensive battle. Kiah Stokes converted a Williams miss into a key basket with 53 seconds left, drawing loud cheers from the home crowd, known as “Ballhalla”, at the Chase Center. The first game seven in a WNBA championship series was also the first of its kind in league history.
Williams leads a second-half comeback
Williams overcame a two-point deficit at halftime to become the first player in WNBA postseason history to score 28 points in a half. The Valkyries had earlier rallied from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter and were tied 53-all midway through the fourth quarter, after Allisha Gray connected on a short jumper for Atlanta with 5:14 to play.
Williams then took over. She hit two free throws with 3:34 remaining and a driving layup 32 seconds later as the teams traded baskets. Her 31-foot shot gave Golden State a 60-57 lead for good with 2:18 to go, a shot that was described as one of the most important in the franchise’s history.
Williams played 38 of the game’s 40 minutes. She also won a key jump ball over Gray with 8.3 seconds left. Her 30 points were her second-highest total in a playoff game, behind only the 36 she scored in game two of Golden State’s first-round series win over the Dallas Wings on September 30.
Teammates and leaders credit a united effort
Veronica Burton was fouled with 5.1 seconds remaining and scored the final points of the season for the Valkyries. Burton finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Tiffany Hayes added 11 points for Golden State.
Stokes held Atlanta star Angel Reese to eight points and had a game-high 13 rebounds. She also finished with two blocks, giving her a WNBA Finals record of 19 for the series and her fourth championship title. The Valkyries made only five of their 20 three-point attempts, but still won.
Owner Joe Lacob praised the fans during the trophy ceremony, shouting “Ballhalla” into a microphone in tribute to the capacity crowd. The Valkyries’ attendance has been a key theme of the season, with the franchise selling out every game in its history and setting league attendance records. Coach Natalie Nakase was credited with building a team from players left unprotected in the expansion draft, a group of international players and one key free-agent signing, which produced the league’s second-best regular-season record.
Williams, the team’s only All-Star, was added as a free agent in the offseason. Among the high-profile fans watching were former San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.
The night’s key numbers included:
- Williams: 30 points, 10 of 23 from the field, and records for most points (137) and most steals (18) in a WNBA Finals
- Burton: 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists
- Stokes: 13 rebounds, two blocks and a Finals-record 19 blocks overall
- Golden State: eight blocks in the championship game, four of them by Williams
Atlanta Dream struggles from the opening minutes
Atlanta led the Valkyries for much of the early part of the game but struggled badly to start. The Dream went scoreless for the opening 5:19, missing eight straight shots and committing four turnovers while Golden State built an 8-0 lead. Dream coach Karl Smesko later described a number of stretches of poor play.
Atlanta finished with a 33.3 percent shooting rate, making 23 of 69 shots, and went 6-for-30 from three-point range. Jordin Canada scored 18 points and Gray added 16. Reese led Atlanta with 12 rebounds.
“It’s beyond frustrating that we didn’t accomplish what we set out to accomplish,” Smesko said at his postgame news conference. “Those first five minutes … you can’t get those five minutes back.”
Reese said she was grateful to have played with her team. “It’s tough in the moment, but we’ll be back,” she told reporters afterwards.
