In the middle of Chase Center, the Golden State Valkyries gathered somewhere they have been only a handful of times. They are, after all, just a second-year franchise. But on Saturday night they came together to collect their trophy as WNBA champions.
Kaila Charles embraced Tiffany Hayes as they jumped up and down. Kayla Thornton screamed towards the ceiling. Teams are not supposed to do this so fast, but the Valkyries did.
Gabby Williams scored 30 points, most of them coming in a second-half tear in which she carried the Valkyries to a 68-63 win over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the WNBA finals. It is the first championship in franchise history for the Valkyries, who began play just two seasons ago. They beat Dallas in the first round and swept the defending champion Las Vegas Aces to reach the finals before prevailing in an intense, seven-game slugfest against Atlanta.
It was also the first-ever Game 7 in WNBA history. The league expanded the finals to a best-of-seven format last year, but Las Vegas swept Phoenix in four games. The Valkyries led 14-12 after the first quarter on Saturday, thanks in large part to an 8-0 run to open the game.
Golden State recorded five blocks before the Dream made their first field goal, but Atlanta responded with a 7-0 run to briefly take the lead. The second quarter, though, was a reversal of the first. Golden State did not make a field goal until three minutes remained in the period, while the Dream went on a 9-0 run.
The Valkyries had missed their first 10 three-point attempts before Thornton finally connected from beyond the arc in the second. After Golden State had struggled from long range all game, Williams hit three consecutive three-pointers in the third quarter to cut Atlanta’s lead to two. The Valkyries led 45-44 entering the fourth, largely thanks to Williams’s 15 points in the period.
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