'Big shot Gabby' leads Valkyries' charge from 16 down, ousts Wings in Game 3 — SkimNews
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- Gabby Williams scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half and outscored the Wings 8-1 over the final two minutes, capping the 77-73 Valkyries win in Game 3.
- The Valkyries erased a 16-point deficit — the fifth-largest comeback in a winner-take-all WNBA playoff game and the largest since the Aces rallied past Connecticut in the 2020 semifinals.
- Dallas opened the second half on a 20-0 run spanning halftime and led by 16, but Veronica Burton's 26-foot 3-pointer over Paige Bueckers snapped Golden State's scoring drought and shifted momentum.
- Burton finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the first double-double in Valkyries postseason history, while Tiffany Hayes added 18 points off the bench.
- The win marks the Valkyries' first playoff series victory in the franchise's second season and sets up a best-of-five semifinal against defending champion Las Vegas starting Sunday at Ballhalla.
- Williams, coming off a career-high 36-point Game 2, said she came to Golden State because she wanted a staff to trust her: 'I never quite got that belief in the W from a staff or teammates.'
Why it matters: The Valkyries' comeback eliminates Dallas and sends a second-year franchise into a semifinal against defending champion Las Vegas. Williams, who joined Golden State seeking trust in big moments, now faces the league's measuring stick after delivering consecutive 36- and 19-point performances to close out the series.
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