Gabby Williams scored 28 of her game-high 30 points in the second half, Kiah Stokes converted a Williams miss into a key hoop with 53 seconds left and the Golden State Valkyries, in just their second season, captured the WNBA championship with a 68-63 victory over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the Finals on Saturday night in San Francisco.
In what was mostly a defensive struggle, Williams was the difference in the end, including winning a jump ball over Allisha Gray with 8.3 seconds to go and Golden State clinging to a 66-63 lead.
With the likes of former San Francisco Giants superstar Barry Bonds and multiple NBA title-winner Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors rooting her on, Veronica Burton was fouled with 5.1 seconds remaining and produced the final points in the Valkyries’ storybook season.
Rallying from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter, the Valkyries were tied at 53-all after the Dream’s Gray connected on a short jumper with 5:14 to play.
Williams, after spearheading the earlier rally, then came alive again. She hit two free throws with 3:34 to go and a driving hoop 32 seconds later, both times giving Golden State a two-point lead that Atlanta quickly erased.
Williams was relentless, as she came through again on the Valkyries’ next possession. She drilled a Stephen Curry-like 31-footer to give Golden State the lead for good at 60-57 with 2:18 to go.
She added two free throws, and when Stokes tipped in her teammate’s miss with 53 seconds to go, Chase Center — nicknamed “Ballhalla” — erupted as Golden State had a 64-57 advantage that it was able to protect through the end.
Williams’ 30 points were her second-most in a playoff game, topped only by the 36 she had in Game 2 of Golden State’s first-round triumph over the Dallas Wings on Sept. 30. She made 10 of her 23 field-goal attempts on Saturday when neither team shot well.
Burton finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Stokes had a game-high 13 rebounds to complement eight points for the Valkyries, who won despite making just five of their 20 3-point shots.
Jordin Canada had 18 points and Gray 16 for Atlanta, which shot just 33.3% overall (23 of 69) and 6-for-30 from beyond the arc. The Dream had eight shots blocked, including four by Williams.
Angel Reese contributed eight points and 12 rebounds to the cause for Atlanta, which has yet to win a championship in 19 seasons of existence since joining the WNBA in 2008. The Dream also lost in the league finals in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
The Valkyries were ahead 8-0 in the game’s sixth minute but trailed 37-28 in the sixth minute of the third period. They finally got their offense rolling as Williams caught fire.
After hoops by Stokes and Cecilia Zandalasini cut Golden State’s deficit to five, Williams scored her team’s final 13 points of the period, single-handedly delivering the hosts a 45-44 edge entering the final 10 minutes and setting up the dramatic finish.
–Field Level Media
