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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes (15) celebrates after Game 3 of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Dallas Wings, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu)<\/p>\n
Oh, everybody does now \u2014 no doubt about that.<\/p>\n
\n The second-seeded Valkyries are on to the WNBA semifinals for a date with the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, who will have to deal with Golden State\u2019s devoted, delirious \u201csixth man\u201d home crowd in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Game 1 in the best-of-five series is Sunday afternoon at Chase Center, with raucous \u201cBallhalla\u201d clamoring and ready for another round of playoff basketball.<\/p>\n
The Valkyries had to rally from 16 points down to get past Dallas 77-73 in the deciding Game 3 of the first round Friday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmazing after all that hard work of fighting and clawing back, doing it with this team, it was amazing,\u201d said guard Tiffany Hayes, who scored 18 points off the bench in the first-round clincher. \u201cI can\u2019t think of any other word but amazing. Just proud and grateful to be here with this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
No arguing the Aces believe in A\u2019ja Wilson, their do-everything, reigning MVP center and the WNBA\u2019s leading scorer this season at 26 points per game. She\u2019s the league\u2019s top shot blocker, too.<\/p>\n
Still, Wilson insists she is determined to do more. She scored 36 points as the Aces eliminated Caitlin Clark and the Fever in their Game 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my approach to what I do every single time I step foot on the court,\u201d she said. \u201cI know that everyone\u2019s going to try to be their best against me. If not they\u2019re going to be their best against me because of the resume or because the team that I\u2019m on. And so I can\u2019t take any days off. I have to constantly keep my guard up because if I want to continue to be the best and be on the best team with the best players I\u2019ve got to hold my end of the stick.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s plenty of familiarity with these teams: Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase was an assistant under Becky Hammon with the Aces from 2022\u201324 as Las Vegas captured consecutive titles in 2022 and \u201923.<\/p>\n
In Friday\u2019s clincher, Nakase went down to her knees on the court with 1:40 left appearing to not feel well. The team said afterward she was fine and expected to coach Sunday in Game 1 but assistant coach Kasib Powell addressed the media in a postgame news conference where she typically speaks.<\/p>\n
Williams can\u2019t wait for everything this series will bring her way. She scored 19 points in the clinching win to wrap up the first round against Dallas on Friday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love these situations, I love high-pressure situations,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m best when I don\u2019t have a choice but to do my best so I like being put into that position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams hit a go-ahead 17-footer with 1:17 remaining Friday and had two 3-pointers late in the third quarter to help fuel the comeback.<\/p>\n
\u201cBig shot Gabby,\u201d as Hayes called her. \u201cShe\u2019s our leader, she\u2019s the one we go to, and she showed you exactly why she is who she is.\u201d<\/p>\n
With little fanfare, the soft-spoken Williams alongside fellow veterans Veronica Burton and Hayes has taken the Valkyries to another level: They earned the No. 2 seed and energized a diverse Bay Area fan base that has embraced this franchise since Day 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely owe Ballhalla a big thank you for tonight,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
Williams is clearly thriving in her new surroundings.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n