Gabby Williams scores 8 of the last 9 as Valkyries beat Dream 68-64 in Finals Game 1
The Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-64 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday at Chase Center, and they did it by holding Atlanta scoreless for the final 3:12. Gabby Williams scored 8 of Golden State's last 9 points, including the free throws at 1:18 that gave the Valkyries their first lead since the third quarter.
Atlanta led for most of the afternoon. The Dream were up 64-61 with 3:12 left and never scored again. Golden State now leads the best-of-seven series 1-0, and it has beaten Atlanta in all four meetings this season, counting three regular-season wins.
The last 3:12
Rhyne Howard hit two free throws at 3:12 to make it 64-61 Dream. That was Atlanta's last point.
Williams answered right away. She had already scored on a running layup at 3:22, and at 2:15 she made two free throws to cut it to 64-63. At 1:21 Allisha Gray missed a driving layup, Williams grabbed the rebound and drew a foul on Angel Reese. Two more free throws, 65-64 Valkyries.
Atlanta still had chances. Howard missed a 25-foot three at 1:09. Reese then stole the ball from Williams with 46.1 seconds left, but Naz Hillmon missed a 26-foot three at 25.9. Kiah Stokes rebounded, got fouled and made 1 of 2 at 23.8 for a 66-64 lead.
Gray missed a 25-footer at 7.9 that would have won it. Howard fouled on purpose at 4.1, Williams made both, and Gray's step-back three at 2.1 missed. Atlanta missed all five shots it took in the last 81 seconds.
How it got there
This was a game of runs. Golden State went on a 9-0 burst in the first quarter to lead 14-11, then Atlanta closed the quarter on an 11-0 run to go up 22-14.
The Valkyries flipped it in the second. They won that quarter 28-17, with a 10-0 run from 3:43 to 1:29 that turned a 37-32 deficit into a 42-37 lead. It was 42-39 Golden State at the half.
Then the Valkyries went cold. They scored 9 points in the third quarter. Atlanta scored the first 5 points of the second half, Howard hit a 27-foot running jumper, and Isobel Borlase's jumper at 4:27 made it 50-44. Golden State answered with a 7-0 run, capped by a Laeticia Amihere layup for a 51-50 lead at 2:58. Atlanta closed on an 8-0 run that carried into the fourth, and Howard's free throws at 9:07 made it 58-51.
From there, Atlanta made two field goals the rest of the way: a Hillmon layup at 7:16 and a Jordin Canada jumper at 4:23. Golden State won the fourth quarter 17-8.
The numbers that decided it
Neither team could shoot. Golden State made 25 of 78 shots (32%) and 7 of 33 threes. Atlanta made 21 of 64 (33%) and 4 of 25 threes (16%). The 132 combined points came in well under the 154.5 DraftKings total listed in our preview.
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Three numbers explain why the worse-shooting team on the scoreboard still won:
- Turnovers. Atlanta turned it over 12 times, and Golden State scored 17 points off them. The Dream scored 8 off Golden State's mistakes.
- Second chances. The Valkyries grabbed 12 offensive rebounds to Atlanta's 7. Kaila Charles had 10 rebounds, and three of them came on the defensive glass in the final 67 seconds.
- Rim protection. Golden State blocked 10 shots. Stokes had 4.
Williams finished with 26 points on 8-of-22 shooting, made 7 of 8 free throws and was +16 in 33 minutes. Gray led Atlanta with 19 points and went 8-for-8 at the line, but shot 5 of 19 from the field. Reese had 14 points and 12 rebounds, 5 of them offensive. Howard scored 12 on 3-of-14 shooting.
Atlanta's three starting guards, Gray, Howard and Canada, went 11 of 42 combined. One game is a small sample, but that is the clearest gap Golden State created.
What's next
My preview picked Atlanta to win Game 1 and Dream +2.5 as a betting lean. Both missed, since Atlanta lost by four.
Game 2 is Monday, Oct. 19, at 5 p.m. PT at Chase Center, on USA Network, CNBC and Peacock.
My pick is Golden State in Game 2. The Valkyries won Game 1 while making just 21% of their threes, because their offensive rebounding and shot blocking didn't depend on shots falling.
How this story was made: drafted with AI tools from the sources linked above, then reviewed and edited by Ryan Moalemi. How we make Full Court Buckets
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