SAN FRANCISCO (AP) \u2014 A fresh WNBA CHAMPIONS T-shirt over her uniform, Gabby Williams cradled the shiny MVP trophy in one arm and gave it a kiss. She held up a No. 1 with her left hand, then hugged and high-fived her supporters all the way to Golden State’s locker room where she pulled on some goggles for the celebration.<\/p>\n
Williams made her way back to the Bay Area where she cherishes so many youth basketball memories exactly for a chance to do something like this \u2014 to win it all and be part of building something special.<\/p>\n
And she has done that all right.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just walked into a group full of love,\u201d Williams said. \u201cAnd that just changed the entire trajectory of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams scored her team’s final 11 points of the third quarter and dazzled through the fourth on the way to 30 points, and the Valkyries captured a championship in just their second season by beating the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in a sensational first WNBA Finals Game 7 on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cGabby is our closer she stayed patient, she stayed with it,\u201d coach Natalie Nakase said. \u201cClosing with 30, that is incredible!\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams joined Penny Taylor in 2007 for Phoenix as the only players in WNBA history to score 30 or more points in a winner-takes-all Finals game.<\/p>\n
Jordin Canada scored 18 points, Allisha Gray 16 and Angel Reese had eight points and 12 rebounds for the Dream, denied another championship in the franchise’s fourth try.<\/p>\n
Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds left then Atlanta forced a jump ball \u2014 Gray against Williams \u2014 and Veronica Burton corralled it and converted two free throws with 5.1 seconds to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m just so blessed, this is insane!\u201d said Burton, cut by Dallas two years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rhyne Howard’s layup tied it at 57 with 2:41 left only for Williams to answer once more with a clutch 3-pointer. She converted two free throws with 1:40 remaining, then Kiah Stokes scored a late basket. Stokes \u2014 now a four-time WNBA champion \u2014 pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked two more shots to cap her spectacular postseason.<\/p>\n Williams left Seattle with a great feeling about joining Golden State and its close-knit culture, returning to the Bay Area determined to prove herself as a WNBA star after all her international success \u2014 and now she’s a postseason icon. Fans chanted \u201cGabby! Gabby!\u201d throughout the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n \u201cAll it took was good people,\u201d she said. \u201cAll we heard last year was we don\u2019t have no stars. We don\u2019t have no talent. Yeah right! We got good people. We got good people. We got winners. We got people who are ready to put their bodies on the floor to win a game.\u201d<\/p>\n When the final buzzer sounded, the violet-clad sellout crowd at Chase Center went into a frenzy as players sprinted onto the floor to hug and celebrate as confetti fell from the rafters.<\/p>\n \u201cBallhalla\u201d had become \u201cBoohalla\u201d for this far-but-haunted Halloween night in the raucous arena. Now, with a women’s championship to its name right alongside the one earned by the Golden State Warriors in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cWe gotta build a bigger trophy case,\u201d co-owner Peter Guber said.<\/p>\n The team that led at halftime in the first six matchups had won every game so far, and the Dream were ahead 30-24 at the break. Atlanta also had been 16-0 this season when Reese made at least one 3. The Dream’s DeWanna Bonner became the first player in WNBA history to reach 600 career postseason defensive rebounds.<\/p>\n Nakase told Williams at halftime the game would open up for her.<\/p>\n \u201cNat told me to stay patient, I trust her with my life,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI stayed patient.\u201d<\/p>\n Nakase changed her starting lineup<\/a> in a move that paid huge dividends after Golden State fell behind 2-1, inserting Kaila Charles and Tiffany Hayes and bringing Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini off the bench.<\/p>\n The 37-year-old Hayes, who came out of retirement two years ago and spent 10 seasons with the Dream, scored 11 points in the winner-take-all Game 7 and brought energy all series that made Nakase want to win for the veteran guard as much as anybody.<\/p>\n