{"id":942453,"date":"2026-10-22T19:58:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T19:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/942453\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T19:58:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T19:58:52","slug":"what-went-wrong-for-golden-state-valkyries-vs-atlanta-in-wnba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/942453\/","title":{"rendered":"What went wrong for Golden State Valkyries vs. Atlanta in WNBA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATLANTA \u2013 Gabby Williams stood in the huddle and pointed to the Atlanta bench, stomped her foot and was visibly animated. The Valkyries had just lost Game 3 of the WNBA Finals 97-71 to the Dream<\/a> and their emotional leader was not happy.<\/p>\n

Williams, who has carried the Valkyries at points this postseason, shot 5-for-18 but got little offensive help<\/a> from the other starters. When she came to the postgame press conference with ice wrapped around her right knee \u2014 which she insisted was fine \u2014 Williams\u2019 frustration hadn\u2019t cooled down a bit.<\/p>\n

Golden State\u2019s All-Star forward lamented that \u201cwe were a bit undisciplined on defense\u201d,\u00a0 and when a reporter asked what went wrong with the Valkyries\u2019 offense, Williams said, \u201cWe don\u2019t like to make it about offense. They scored 95 points \u2026 97? We have no chance. We just have to go back to our defense, and that will get our offense going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ATLANTA,<\/a>ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 21: Head coach Natalie Nakase of the Golden State Valkyries speaks to Veronica Burton #22 during the first quarter in game three of the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena on October 21, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t a concession speech. Williams noted multiple times that the team needed to review video of the loss to fully understand what has happened since their gritty Game 1 victory<\/a>, but they also need to \u201cremind ourselves of what motivates us and just stay together\u201d before Game 4 on Saturday morning in Atlanta. The Dream split the first two games of the series at Chase Center, and could clinch the title at Ballhalla in Game 5 on Monday if the Valkyries can\u2019t rediscover the magic that led them to the second-best regular-season record in the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she\u2019s bringing energy,\u201d center Kiah Stokes said of Williams. \u201cI mean, at the end of the day, it\u2019s the Finals, so she\u2019s being a competitor. She\u2019s being a leader. She\u2019s holding people accountable, holding herself accountable, and that\u2019s just the reality of being in the WNBA Finals right now. Emotions are high, and we want to be here. We want to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

For so long this season, composure has been one of the Valkyries\u2019 best assets. Maybe that\u2019s why it\u2019s been so shocking to see it fall apart<\/a> while the Dream have had their way as the Valkyries succumb to frustration without much on-court energy to offset that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this game, they wanted it more than us, and that\u2019s not who we are,\u201d guard Tiffany Hayes said. \u201cThat\u2019s not who we\u2019ve been, and that\u2019s not how we got here. So I think we got to get a little bit more of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ATLANTA,<\/a>ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 21: Janelle Salaun #13, Kayla Thornton #5, Gabby Williams #1, and Kiah Stokes #41 of the Golden State Valkyries react from the bench during the fourth quarter in game three of the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena on October 21, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 postgame huddle moment was one of the only instances where Golden State has shown frustration in that manner all postseason. In Game 3, though, Natalie Nakase got a technical foul in the fourth quarter for what she said was defending her players. Aminata Gueye has gone at it with Angel Reese at times, and that has manifested as energy on the other end for Atlanta.<\/p>\n

So maybe there is something in Williams\u2019 frustration that can inspire the Valkyries without riling them up to the point of mistakes on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Gabby\u2019s just showing the amount of want to, the will, the fight,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cI mean, I think if everyone could have said something in those moments, we would have all showed that type of fight. We love emotions. That\u2019s part of it, and the will and want to at this moment has to be ultra high, which I think she showed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden State has come from behind several times in the postseason. In Game 3 against Dallas in the first round, they stormed back from down 17 in the second half to win and advance<\/a>. In Game 3 of the semifinals against the Aces they trailed by 16 before eventually winning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be silly to overreact right now,\u201d said Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton. \u201cWe\u2019re on to the next game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Golden<\/a>Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) shoots agains Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5)during the first half of Game 3 of the WNBA basketball finals on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo\/Brynn Anderson)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even in Game 1 of the Finals they were down for most of the second half before turning it on. But over the past two games, while the Valkyries have stayed alive, they\u2019ve never been able to get over the hump, and the frustration has started to show.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fight has never not been there,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cI feel like this is just a long series. We\u2019ve been down before. We\u2019ve come back from games where we\u2019ve been down, and so now we just put it as a longer series. We fought back from 17. We fought back from 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re resilient. We\u2019ve done it before. They know that, and again, it\u2019s on my shoulders. I got to figure out maybe a couple of different schemes that could be a little bit more aggressive. I could be a little bit more clear on how I could make sure we\u2019re fighting with the right units. So, yeah, this is on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The word players used after Wednesday\u2019s game to describe what happened was \u201cundisciplined,\u201d whether it be turning the ball over or allowing the Dream to get to the rim with ease.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just have to go back and watch it and see where we can adjust,\u201d Williams said. \u201cFirst and foremost, rest (and) recover, and then back to the film so we can adjust and have a good day of practice, reconnect, regroup, and just get ready for Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams has shown passion on the court before, whether it be as Team France\u2019s emotional leader or as the Valkyries closer.<\/p>\n

\"Golden<\/a>Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) talks with a referee during the second half of Game 3 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo\/Brynn Anderson)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hayes and Burton noted it was \u201csurprising\u201d to come out as undisciplined as they did in the last two games. It surely had to be frustrating for Williams, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s really good about our team is we embrace it,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cWe love it. We love the fight. We love the screaming. We love the yelling. Like I said, it brings out a different level into us, and I think we\u2019re going to utilize that in the next game for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the Finals,\u201d Burton added. \u201cIs it not emotional? We\u2019ve worked all season to get to this point. I think it\u2019s okay to show some emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden State has won games by hitting timely shots and getting important stops, none of which have occurred in the past two games.<\/p>\n

Do they have enough left in the tank to find that key part of their identity again in Game 4? They\u2019ll need to in front of a raucous Atlanta crowd that sees the chance to go up 3-1 in the series.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we play very composed,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cI think that\u2019s what is brilliant about our team is that we lost the game\u2026 But we know how to come back. What\u2019s good is that we usually come back even tighter. This is where we lean on each other more rather than split.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA \u2013 Gabby Williams stood in the huddle and pointed to the Atlanta bench, stomped her foot and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[461,62657,49,3335,48,1612,4245,62658,5886,62659,82,630],"class_list":["post-942453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-basketball","tag-bay-area","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-canada","tag-golden-state-valkyries","tag-latest-headlines","tag-peninsula","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-county","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}