SAN FRANCISCO — Laeticia Amihere had played six minutes all postseason when she checked into the WNBA Finals with 4:36 left in the second quarter and one assignment: slow down Angel Reese. Reese had 14 points by then, CBS Sports reported. She did not score again.
That substitution sits at the center of how the Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-64 on Saturday afternoon at Chase Center in Game 1. It was the franchise’s first Finals win, in its second season, and it ended a record 10-game winning streak for the Dream, who had not lost this postseason, Yahoo Sports reported.
The Valkyries made no claim to beauty. They shot 32.1 percent, which CBS Sports described as the third-worst field-goal percentage in a Finals win in league history, and led for six minutes and four seconds all day. Owner Joe Lacob was overheard saying in the tunnel afterward, “We didn’t play well.”
Gabby Williams supplied the points. She scored 26, nearly 40 percent of her team’s offense, and was the only Valkyrie in double figures, Yahoo Sports reported. A day earlier she had told reporters the media has “never respected me,” the outlet noted, and her first 7:42 of a Finals career produced four missed shots.
Amihere’s work was quieter and harder to dismiss. After she entered, CBS Sports reported, Reese took three more shots; Amihere blocked one, contested another and finished with five points, five rebounds and a steal. Reserve Kaila Charles added seven points, a team-high 10 rebounds and the game-sealing rebound. “Her engine was on full throttle tonight,” coach Natalie Nakase said of Charles.
Williams’ two free throws put Golden State ahead for good with 1:18 left. “Even though we were down with a few minutes left, we had the game right where we wanted it because it just came down to getting stops,” she said. The Dream scored eight points in the fourth quarter. Game 2 is Monday night at Chase Center.
Reese saw her second half differently. Asked postgame whether the Valkyries’ defense had slowed her, she said, “I don’t think they really did anything,” and added, “Maybe that was just on me, I wasn’t aggressive enough with the ball,” Sports Illustrated reported. She finished with 14 points, every one of them scored before Amihere checked in.
