After a riveting opener in the WNBA Finals, the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries are set to meet for Game 2 on Monday in San Francisco.
The second-seeded Valkyries used shutout defense over the final 3:12 and six late Gabby Williams free throws to overtake the fourth-seeded Dream 68-64 in Game 1 on Saturday afternoon and seize an early advantage in the best-of-seven series.
Making a trip to the Finals in just their second season, the Valkyries watched the Dream’s Angel Reese dominate the early going. Atlanta, which opened the playoffs with a 5-0 record, ran out to a 22-14 lead as Reese shot 5 of 6 and had half of her team’s points in the first quarter.
Kiah Stokes and Laeticia Amihere led Golden State’s defensive charge from there as they harassed Reese into just three points the rest of the way — all on free throws. Their play effectively stymied the Dream’s offense, limiting it to 42 points over the final three quarters.
“(We) just try to make things as difficult as possible,” Stokes said to reporters about in-game adjustments. “(Reese) definitely got going in that first half, so we just wanted to limit her touches and (put) a big emphasis on boxing out and rebounding.”
Reese, who easily led the WNBA with 4.8 offensive rebounds per game, managed four over the final three quarters, but failed to turn any of them into hoops.
With his team unable to get the ball inside effectively, Atlanta coach Karl Smesko saw the Dream lose their way on offense, relying on individual play and leaning into 3-point shooting against Golden State’s top-ranked defense.
After shooting 9 of 20 overall with seven assists in the first quarter, the Dream totaled just 12 field goals and eight assists over the final three quarters. They went 2 of 19 (0 of 7 on 3-pointers) in the fourth quarter when they were outscored 17-8.
Atlanta’s season-low scoring output was 19 points fewer than any game of the 2026 playoffs.
“We’re gonna look at everything, we’re gonna watch (the game film) and try to get better,” Smesko said. “We were right there, right there. That’s why it hurts a little bit, but it also motivates us.
“Golden State’s a great defense, but I’ve got a lot of confidence that we’re going to see some really big games from Rhyne (Howard) and others and that we’ll take care of what we need to take care of.”
Howard scored 12 points in Game 1 on 3-of-14 shooting.
Allisha Gray, who missed the Dream’s previous two games with a sprained ring finger on her shooting (left) hand, led Atlanta with 19 points but missed all seven of her shots in the fourth quarter. Gray finished 5 of 19 from the floor and 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
“I felt good playing out there. My finger felt good,” Gray said. “I was able to get through the physicality.”
After Monday’s game, the series shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
