Gabby Williams stars as Valkyries win first WNBA title in Game 7

Golden State have their first WNBA title. The Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday 31 October at the Chase Center in San Francisco, in the seventh and final game of the Finals. Gabby Williams scored 30 points, 28 of them after the break, to lift the franchise to the summit in only its second season. The Frenchwoman was named Finals MVP.

Atlanta had taken control before the interval. The dream went into the locker room with a six-point lead (30-24). Williams had scored just two points at that stage.

After the restart, the forward changed the tempo of the game. She scored 15 points in the third quarter, including the last eleven for her team in the period. Golden State wiped out the deficit and went into the final quarter with a narrow lead, 45-44.

The Dream kept fighting in a defensive Finals decider. Rhyne Howard pulled Atlanta level at 57-57 with 2 minutes 41 seconds left. Williams answered with a long-range three-pointer, then two free throws. Kiah Stokes then scored close to the basket after an offensive rebound, and Golden State led 64-57 with less than a minute remaining.

Atlanta cut the gap again through Allisha Gray. After Williams won the jump ball, Veronica Burton got the ball and sank two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to make it 68-63.

Williams added four blocks to her 30 points. Stokes pulled down 13 rebounds and Tiffany Hayes scored 11 points. For Atlanta, Jordin Canada finished with 18 points and Gray with 16, while Angel Reese grabbed 12 rebounds and scored eight points.

The best-of-seven series ends in a 4-3 victory for Golden State. The Valkyries win the first championship in their history in just their second year in the WNBA. Atlanta, playing in their fourth Finals, will have to keep waiting for a first title.