Gabby Williams scored 16 points on Friday to help lead the Golden State Valkyries to a 78-75 victory over the visiting Atlanta Dream in San Francisco, Calif.
Kiah Stokes had 13 points and seven blocks, while Kaitlyn Chen scored 13 for Golden State (12-7), which won back-to-back games over Atlanta following an 11-point victory on Wednesday. Tiffany Hayes had 12 points and Veronica Burton chipped in 10 for the Valkyries.
Jordin Canada led Atlanta (12-6) with 23 points, followed by Angel Reese’s 15 points, 12 rebounds and six steals. Allisha Gray added 14 points for the Dream, who have dropped consecutive games for the first time this year.
After trailing 35-32 at halftime, Golden State grabbed its first lead of the second half on Chen’s 3-pointer, which made it 42-41 at the 6:17 mark of the third quarter.
Neither team took a lead larger than three until Canada’s four-point play gave the Dream a 55-49 advantage with 18.6 seconds left. Stokes’ layup pulled Golden State within four after three quarters.
From there, Chen’s four straight points to begin the fourth knotted the score at 55 apiece.
With 2:35 remaining, Gray’s layup gave the Dream a 69-67 lead. Williams’ basket tied the game on the ensuing possession.
Following an empty Atlanta trip, Williams’ mid-range jumper put the Valkyries up by two. Williams then stole the ball from Canada on the other end and scored again to give Golden State a 73-69 advantage with 1:23 left.
Williams split a pair of free throws with 16.2 seconds remaining, giving the Valkyries a four-point cushion. Golden State then iced the comeback win with a defensive stop.
Janelle Salaun’s second 3-pointer of the opening quarter gave Golden State an 18-16 lead. After Howard and Chen traded layups, Canada’s triple in the final seconds put the Dream ahead by a point entering the second.
Canada’s three-point play gave Atlanta a 26-22 edge, before Chen’s layup stamped a 6-0 Golden State spurt.
The Dream answered with a 9-1 run, taking a 35-29 lead on Canada’s layup with 2:45 remaining in the first half.
Stokes’ 3-pointer trimmed Golden State’s halftime deficit to three. Canada’s 13 first-half points led all scorers, while Stokes’ seven paced the Valkyries.
–Field Level Media
