http:\/\/www.bozemandailychronicle.com offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.\n <\/p>\n
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) \u2014 Moments after helping the Golden State Valkyries rally to beat the defending champion Aces and earn a trip to the WNBA Finals, Gabby Williams stopped on her way back to the locker room in Las Vegas and shared a little celebratory shake with coach Natalie Nakase.<\/p>\n
Face to face, they squatted, cheered and used their hands as if eating while the Valkyries star beamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust having fun with that,\u201d Williams said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
It’s been a season of joyous moments for Williams, not to mention a fresh start to find her footing in the WNBA alongside Nakase and all the others who have made it such a positive move for the veteran guard. She wanted a basketball culture, and she got it.<\/p>\n
Days before, Williams had grabbed the microphone and shared something with a sellout crowd of more than 18,000 people: Golden State\u2019s rocking home arena has become her \u201csafe place,\u201d a space where she is appreciated and adored.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I said that because everyone’s there just to see good basketball,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Williams left Seattle to sign with the Valkyries in the spring on a mission to win, and she is one of the biggest reasons the team is playing for a championship six months later. She wanted to show she belonged on the WNBA\u2019s postseason stage after winning national championships at UConn and a silver medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics with France \u2014 not that any of her teammates doubted it for a second.<\/p>\n
\u201cGabby doesn\u2019t need to prove herself. Even when she was in Seattle she was doing great things,\u201d Kayla Thornton said. \u201cHer coming to this team, she unlocked a lot of different things, and that\u2019s coming from the coaches and us just giving her the confidence and telling her, \u2018Hey, do what you do, you got it overseas, now you\u2019ve got it over here.\u2019 We back her up every day, and she\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
After going up 2-0 against the Aces at home, she thanked the assist from a rocking \u201cBallhalla.” It’s a play on Valhalla from Norse mythology.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is our sixth man, honestly, on the floor. We feel it,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI feel like I got superpowers when I\u2019m in here.\u201d<\/p>\n
It’s true, Williams is thriving in front of the familiar Bay Area crowd after playing her youth basketball in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Williams has many memories of her AAU and club days playing here and she is making some new ones nearly two decades later in her spectacular first season with the Valkyries.<\/p>\n
In her latest clutch playoff performance, Williams scored eight of her 16 points in overtime of Friday’s 87-77 victory at Las Vegas to sweep the best-of-five semifinal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just feels right, it just feels right with this group,\u201d she said of reaching the finals.<\/p>\n
The atmosphere and community the Valkyries have built from the ground up in just two years is something Williams has longed for in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what give me confidence, it gives us all confidence because we get to be our authentic selves here,\u201d she said of the raucous home crowd in Chase Center. \u201cThere\u2019s some magic in this building, I swear there is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams landed with the Valkyries on a three-year contract in April and it has been a perfect fit from the start. She is set to lead Golden State into Game 1 of the best-of-seven WNBA Finals on Saturday at home against Angel Reese and Atlanta.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one really believed in us except for us, and so we just leaned on each other all season,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWe knew that we could get here. I signed here because I wanted to contend. I knew this team had what it took.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams helped spark a 16-point comeback in the deciding game against Dallas in the first round, and she has said she wants the ball in her hands for the biggest of moments. The Valkyries are thrilled she does.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll do it again and again, over and over,\u201d teammate Tiffany Hayes said. \u201cWe believe in her.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Williams decided on her WNBA future during the offseason, she mentioned some \u201ckey factors\u201d in choosing Golden State:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere am I going to win?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere am I going to be a part of somewhere that\u2019s going to have a winning culture?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd even though this is a newer team, I strongly believe and I feel the competitiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guard Veronica Burton could immediately sense the impact Williams would make on the defensive-minded Valkyries.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the jump, I think you could feel Gabby’s transition here like it was seamless,\u201d Burton said. \u201cAnd you could feel her energy just from a culture perspective. Even before she signed here I could feel the questions that she was asking like I just knew that it was a culture fit. Obviously the way she plays on both sides of the ball I was going to love her, our team was going to love her, and we saw it from the moment she stepped in.\u201d<\/p>\n