Gabby Williams' Decisive Three Secures Golden State's Historic First WNBA Championship

Golden State’s first championship is here. The Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday night at Chase Center, closing out the best-of-seven WNBA Finals with a 4-3 series victory. It was a night defined by stark contrasts. Angel Reese, the league’s marquee star, finished with just eight points. She missed every field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. Atlanta needed more. They needed everything from her.

Gabby Williams delivered what Reese could not. The Golden State guard was named Finals MVP after scoring 30 points, including 28 in the second half. She also blocked four shots in the clincher. Her decisive moment came with 2:18 remaining. Williams hit a 31-foot three-pointer to break a 57-57 tie. That shot put Golden State ahead for good.

Reese’s stats tell a painful story. She shot 3-for-7 from the floor, grabbing 12 rebounds while committing four turnovers. This marked her fourth consecutive game with more turnovers than made field goals. Across those four contests, she shot 12-for-45 (26.7%) and turned the ball over 19 times. Her only point in the final period came on a free throw with 18.6 seconds left.

The series took a dramatic turn after Atlanta held a 2-1 lead. Reese had combined for 51 points and 28 rebounds in Games 2 and 3. She believed she was dismantling Golden State mentally. "They’re playing into my mental game where I can take their confidence and just try to do whatever to mess them up," Reese said before Game 4.

The Valkyries won the next two games. Atlanta forced a Game 7 with an 80-69 victory Thursday. Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard combined for 44 points in that win. But Reese continued to struggle, making only five of 18 attempts. She finished the final four games with 38 points, 13 fewer than she scored in Games 2 and 3 combined.

Saturday started badly for Atlanta. The Dream went scoreless for the first 5:19 as Golden State built an 8-0 lead. Reese finally put Atlanta on the board with a basket off an offensive rebound. The team recovered to trail just 14-12 after one quarter. Reese’s three-pointer early in the second gave the Dream their first lead.

Canada carried the offense in the second quarter, scoring 11 points. He had 13 at halftime. Golden State went more than eight minutes without a field goal to begin the period, allowing Atlanta to take a 30-24 lead into the break. Reese had five points, seven rebounds, and three turnovers at halftime. Williams had just two points.

The Dream extended their lead to 37-28 midway through the third quarter. Then Williams took over. She scored Golden State’s final 13 points of the period. That included three three-pointers in a 56-second span. Reese answered one of those threes with a hook through contact, but missed the accompanying free throw. It was her last basket of the night.

Williams’ turnaround jumper with 1:05 remaining gave the Valkyries a 45-44 lead entering the fourth. She scored 15 points in that quarter and added 13 more in the final period. Allisha Gray’s two free throws tied the game at 55 with 3:15 left. Williams answered with a driving layup. Howard tied it again at 57 before Williams buried the three from 31 feet.

After Gray missed a wide-open layup, Williams made two free throws to push Golden State’s lead to five with 1:40 remaining. Kiah Stokes then delivered on the offensive glass.

The final minutes unfolded with brutal precision. Reese converted a putback off two consecutive Williams misses, pushing the lead to 64-57 with just over half a minute on the clock. Gray hit a three to pull Atlanta within four, but Tiffany Hayes responded calmly from the line. Reese then secured an offensive rebound and drew a foul with 18.6 seconds left. She missed the first free throw but sank the second, keeping Atlanta down five.

The Dream made one last push. Reese stole a pass from Williams, forcing Gray to drain two free throws that cut the deficit to 66-63 with 10.5 seconds remaining. Veronica Burton closed it out. Two free throws with 5.1 seconds left secured the victory.

The box score told a harsh story of missed opportunities. Stokes finished with eight points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks. Burton added 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Hayes scored 11. On the other side, Canada led Atlanta with 18 points, and Gray contributed 16. Howard struggled mightily, finishing with six points on 3-for-14 shooting. She missed all seven of her three-point attempts. The Dream shot 33.3% overall and went 6-for-30 from beyond the arc.

Reese finished the series averaging 14.7 points and 12.9 rebounds while shooting 40.5% from the field. After Game 3, she offered a stark definition of legacy. "I think you become one of the greats … when you can win and impact winning," Reese said. She had helped put Atlanta two wins from a championship. Across the final four games, she simply didn't do enough for the Dream to finish the job.