Valkyries Grind Out Game 1 of WNBA Finals, Hold Dream to Eight Fourth-Quarter Points

By Sun-Reporter Staff

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Valkyries did not shoot well Saturday afternoon. They did not need to. In the first WNBA Finals game ever played in San Francisco, Golden State held the Atlanta Dream to eight points in the fourth quarter and walked off the Chase Center floor with a 68-64 win and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Gabby Williams carried the offense with 26 points, 7 of 8 from the free-throw line, on a night when almost nothing else fell. The Valkyries shot 32 percent from the field and 7 of 33 from three-point range. Atlanta was barely better at 33 percent, and the two teams combined to miss 47 of 58 three-point attempts in a game that was decided on the glass and at the rim.

Golden State won both. The Valkyries pulled down 57 rebounds to Atlanta’s 47, including 12 on the offensive end, and blocked 10 shots — four of them by center Kiah Stokes, who added 9 points and 7 boards. Kaila Charles came off the bench for 10 rebounds and 7 points. Golden State’s bench outscored Atlanta’s 20-6.

The Dream looked like the better team early. Atlanta opened the game on an 11-0 run and led 22-14 after one quarter, with Allisha Gray and Angel Reese doing the damage inside. Golden State answered with a 28-17 second quarter to take a 42-39 halftime lead, then went cold again — nine points in the third — and trailed 56-51 heading into the fourth.

That is where the game turned. Atlanta managed four field goals in the final ten minutes. Reese, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, picked up her fifth foul. Gray, Atlanta’s leading scorer with 19, went 5 for 19 from the field. The Valkyries outscored the Dream 17-8 in the quarter and closed it out at the line.

For a franchise in its second season, the moment carries weight beyond the scoreboard. Golden State reached the Finals by sweeping the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals and now holds home-court advantage against a Dream team that swept the New York Liberty to get here. The Valkyries are 5-0 at Chase Center this postseason.

Game 2 is Monday, Oct. 19, at 5 p.m. at Chase Center. The series shifts to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4 on Oct. 21 and 24.

Box score: Golden State 68 (Williams 26, Stokes 9, Zandalasini 8, Charles 7). Atlanta 64 (Gray 19, Reese 14, Howard 12, Canada 8). Rebounds: GSV 57, ATL 47. Blocks: GSV 10, ATL 5.