{"id":931981,"date":"2026-10-17T23:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T23:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/931981\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T23:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T23:40:14","slug":"gabby-williams-lifts-valkyries-past-dream-in-defensive-slugfest-to-open-wnba-finals-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/931981\/","title":{"rendered":"Gabby Williams lifts Valkyries past Dream in defensive slugfest to open WNBA finals | WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gabby Williams made two free throws with 1:18 remaining to put Golden State ahead, then added two more with 4.1 seconds left to seal a 68-64 victory over the Atlanta Dream<\/a> in Game 1 of the WNBA finals on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Williams finished with 26 points despite constant pressure from Atlanta\u2019s stingy defense, scoring 16 in the second quarter as the Valkyries overcame a miserable shooting performance to take an early lead in the best-of-seven series.<\/p>\n

No other Golden State player reached double figures as the Valkyries shot just 32.1% from the field and went seven of 33 from three-point range.<\/p>\n

Quick GuideWNBA finals 2026Show<\/p>\n

Schedule<\/p>\n

Best-of-seven series. All times Eastern.<\/p>\n

Sat 17 Oct Game 1: Golden State 68, Atlanta 64<\/a><\/p>\n

Mon 19 Oct Game 2: Atlanta at Golden State, 8pm (USA\/CNBC)<\/p>\n

Wed 21 Oct Game 3: Golden State at Atlanta, 8pm (USA\/CNBC)<\/p>\n

Sat 24 Oct Game 4: Golden State at Atlanta, 1pm (NBC)<\/p>\n

Mon 26 Oct Game 5: Atlanta at Golden State, 8pm* (USA\/CNBC)<\/p>\n

Thu 29 Oct Game 6: Golden State at Atlanta, 8pm*\u00a0(USA\/CNBC)<\/p>\n

Sat 31 Oct Game 7: Atlanta at Golden State, 8pm*\u00a0(USA\/CNBC)<\/p>\n

*-if necessary<\/p>\n

How to watch<\/p>\n

In the US, the series will air on NBC, USA Network and CNBC, with all games streaming on Peacock. In the UK, it will be carried by Sky Sports. In Australia, fans can watch through WNBA League Pass, with selected coverage also available through ESPN.<\/p>\n

Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always knew we were going to find a way somehow,\u201d Williams said in a postgame interview as fans chanted \u201cGabby! Gabby!\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhyne Howard missed a three-point attempt with 1:09 remaining, but Angel Reese<\/a> came up with a steal moments later to give Atlanta another chance. Naz Hillmon missed from deep before Golden State\u2019s Kiah Stokes missed the first of two free throws with 23.8 seconds left. Allisha Gray then missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer with nine seconds remaining.<\/p>\n

Williams made two free throws moments later to put the game out of reach.<\/p>\n

Game 2 is Monday night at Chase Center, where the deafening noise from a raucous \u201cBallhalla\u201d crowd provided exactly the hostile environment Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase had requested from the home fans.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

One of these two franchises will capture their first championship, and if the opener was any indication, the series promises to be an all-out defensive battle.<\/p>\n

skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter |Weekly for the 2026 WNBA season<\/p>\n

Sign up to WNBA 30<\/p>\n

A limited run women\u2019s basketball newsletter dedicated to the league\u2019s historic 30th season. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Gray, returning from injury, led Atlanta with 19 points, while Reese added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Jordin Canada contributed eight points, seven assists and five rebounds, including a timely 13-foot jumper with 4:23 remaining.<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 driving layup with 3:22 left pulled Golden State within 62-61. Later, Canada collided awkwardly with Williams\u2019 knee while boxing out during a late free-throw sequence, and the Valkyries star received attention from an athletic trainer on the bench in the closing moments.<\/p>\n

Gray returned to Atlanta\u2019s starting lineup after missing the final two games of the Dream\u2019s sweep of the New York Liberty in the semi-finals with an injured left ring finger on her shooting hand. She had participated in a light practice on Friday.<\/p>\n

Golden State guard Tiffany Hayes also left the game late after hitting her face hard on the floor while attempting a steal. Hayes remained down with 2:38 remaining before walking to the locker room under her own power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gabby Williams made two free throws with 1:18 remaining to put Golden State ahead, then added two more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":931982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-931981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=931981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/931982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=931981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=931981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=931981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}