It took the Golden State Valkyries just two seasons to go from an expansion team to a WNBA Finals contender. Now, after eliminating the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in an overtime thriller, the team is one series away from completing a historic rise. For the team’s newest star, Gabby Williams, her breakthrough came during a night filled with offensive struggles, along with a second chance to make things right when it came down to the wire.
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“You can say I was A-S-S,” Williams joked on NBC following the Valkyries beating the Aces.
“I just try to keep a smile on my face, let my teammates know that I was going to find it eventually… Thankfully, I got a second chance in overtime to finally get going.”
Williams had an unmistakably slow night. During regulation, she logged just eight points on 4-for-14 from the field, missing all four of her three-point attempts. However, she picked it up in overtime, scoring as many points in that period as in the rest of the game, hitting both of her shots and knocking down four foul shots. One of those two shots came at a pivotal moment for the game.
During the overtime period, with just under a minute left on the clock, the Valkyries were up by six. Looking to extend their lead, Gabby Williams caught a handoff pass from forward Ashton Prechtell while running to the top of the paint. Then, she rose from the spot, contested by Dana Evans, and knocked down the shot, pushing the lead to 82-73. After the game though, Williams noted that she thought the team had felt little recognition this season.
“We bout to have some bandwagoners because we ain’t getting no love all season,” Williams told reporters.
“Honestly, nobody believed on us, but it honestly made us smile because we were like, all we need is each other. We just need to believe in each other. We know we weren’t a team that was talked about, but just the culture, going to work every day. We just felt that we had something worth fighting for… We’re going into finals. We’re just going in with the same mentality – staying together, staying unselfish.”
That indomitable spirit was on full display against Vegas. After trailing by 11 points in the third quarter, the team mounted a comeback, going on a 17-0 run to take their first lead of the game, forcing the Aces into 12 straight missed shots.
The team forced Jackie Young into a miss on the final shot attempt of the possession, before going on to outscore the Aces 16-6 in the overtime period. For Williams, though, the hero of the game was Kiah Stokes, who logged her first points of the series in this game.
“I can get emotional talking about [Kiah],” Williams told reporters.
“Everything she does, she just knows how to win. There’s a reason she’s a three-time champion… Offensively, the way she sets screens, the way she moves without the ball, the way she gets all these offensive boards and extra possessions. Defense, I don’t think I have to say anything. We know who she is.”
What makes the win even more impressive for the Valkyries is the fact that they beat perhaps the greatest player in the history of the league on the night of what could be her crowning achievement. Aces forward A’ja Wilson, who finished the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds, was awarded her WNBA record fifth MVP award.
The win now places the Valkyries against the Atlanta Dream in the 2026 WNBA Finals, with both teams vying for their first championship. The Dream have not lost a single game this postseason, something Golden State will look to change when Game 1 tips off at Chase Center on October 17.