SAN FRANCISCO – Gabby Williams scored her team’s final 11 points of the third quarter, dazzled through the fourth and finished with 30 as the Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday night in the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history. The win gave Golden State a championship in just its second season.
Williams had been held to two points at halftime, with Atlanta leading 30-24. Coach Natalie Nakase told her the game would open up. “Nat told me to stay patient, I trust her with my life,” Williams said, according to the Associated Press. “I stayed patient.” She scored 28 of her 30 points after the break, a WNBA Finals record for a half, and was named Finals MVP.
Williams also joined Penny Taylor, who did it for Phoenix in 2007, as the only players in WNBA history to score 30 or more points in a winner-take-all Finals game. She finished with four blocks, two steals, three rebounds and two assists, CBS Sports reported. “Gabby is our closer, she stayed patient, she stayed with it,” Nakase said.
The finish was tight. Rhyne Howard’s layup tied the game at 57 with 2:41 left, and Williams answered with a clutch 3-pointer. She made two free throws with 1:40 remaining, then Kiah Stokes scored a late basket. Stokes pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked two shots. Allisha Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds left, and Atlanta forced a jump ball between Gray and Williams. Veronica Burton corralled it and converted two free throws with 5.1 seconds to go.
“I’m just so blessed, this is insane!” Burton said.
Jordin Canada scored 18 points for the Dream, Gray had 16, and Angel Reese finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. Atlanta was denied another championship in the franchise’s fourth try. The Dream had forced the decider with an 80-69 win in Game 6, and they had once held a 2-1 series lead after Reese’s record Game 2.
The Valkyries had opened the Finals with a win before the series went the distance. Golden State finished 4-3 and became the fastest expansion team in WNBA history to win a championship.
