Gabby Williams comes up clutch as Valkyries 'find a way' in Game 1 — SkimNews
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- Gabby Williams scored a game-high 26 points, with no other Valkyries player reaching double figures, and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to ice the game with 4.1 seconds remaining in the 68-64 win over the Atlanta Dream.
- The Golden State Valkyries closed on a 7-0 run over the final 2:15, with Williams scoring six of those seven points, after leading for just 6:04 of the contest and only 100 seconds in the second half.
- The Atlanta Dream went 0-for-7 in the final 2:53, with five of those attempts coming from beyond the arc, and both teams shot below 33% from the field — just the second time that has happened in a WNBA Finals game.
- Atlanta's Allisha Gray returned from a left ring finger injury to score a team-high 19 points, while Angel Reese added 14 points and 12 rebounds and Rhyne Howard finished with 12 points on 3-for-14 shooting.
- Dream coach Karl Smesko said his team fell into too much one-on-one play in the second half and didn't get Reese enough touches, calling the late missed threes by Naz Hillmon and Howard "good looks" that simply didn't fall.
- Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase framed the comeback as identity-driven: "That's been our identity. We rely on it. We know it's effort. We know it's the details."
Why it matters: The Valkyries, who finished the regular season as the WNBA's No. 1 defensive team, proved that identity travels on a Finals stage by locking down Atlanta during a 2:53 scoreless drought to steal Game 1 despite leading for only 6:04 total. With Williams as the closer and no other scorer in double figures, Golden State demonstrated it can win ugly against an Atlanta squad that returns Gray and features a triple-double threat in Reese.
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