Gabby Williams Scores 26 as the Valkyries Hold the Dream to 8 in the Fourth of Game 1

Photo: WNBA.com. Gabby Williams, Golden State Valkyries.

Gabby Williams made two free throws with 4.1 seconds left Saturday, and the Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-64 at Chase Center to take Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. Williams scored 26, with 16 in the second quarter, and Golden State held Atlanta to eight fourth-quarter points on 2-for-19 shooting, the fewest allowed in a Finals quarter since 2022, per the team.

Two shots after halftime

Angel Reese opened her first Finals with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first quarter. She kept getting two feet in the paint, per the Valkyries' recap, and Atlanta led 22-14 after one with Reese at plus-13 in eight minutes. She went 0-for-5 the rest of the way and took two shots in the second half.

Reese put it on herself. "I don't think they really did anything," she said postgame, per Sports Illustrated. "Maybe that was just on me, I wasn't aggressive enough with the ball, and trying to get the ball and get to my spot." Karl Smesko said Atlanta didn't get her enough touches and leaned too hard on one-on-one play, per Yahoo Sports.

Kiah Stokes, an All-Defensive pick, tied her playoff career high with four blocks and said the plan after the first half was to limit Reese's touches and box out. Reese still grabbed five of Atlanta's seven offensive rebounds. The Valkyries won the glass anyway, 41-35 overall and 12-7 on the offensive end, and they have outrebounded the other side in all six of their playoff wins.

Atlanta's 2-for-19 fourth

The Dream led 56-51 going into the fourth. They scored eight points the rest of the way, shooting 2-for-19 from the field and 0-for-7 from three. Allisha Gray, back from a hand injury, finished 5-for-19. Rhyne Howard went 3-for-14. Reese didn't attempt a field goal in the final eight minutes, per Sports Illustrated.

Atlanta entered the Finals unbeaten in five playoff games, per Yahoo Sports, and SI ranks the Dream among the league's most tenacious defenses in steals and takeaways. The Valkyries scored 17 points off 12 Dream turnovers and gave up eight off their own 10. The two teams shot a combined 46-for-142, the second-worst field goal percentage in a Finals game, per SI. In a four-point game, a nine-point edge off turnovers is more than double the margin.

Winning while shooting 7-of-33 from three

Golden State shot 32.1 percent from the field and missed 26 of 33 threes. The Valkyries started 0-for-8 from deep before Kaitlyn Chen banked one in from the left wing as the shot clock ran out. Williams was their only double-figure scorer.

The bench carried the rest. Golden State's reserves outscored Atlanta's 20-6. Kaila Charles pulled down 10 rebounds, a playoff career high, and became the sixth reserve in Finals history to reach 10, per the team. Laeticia Amihere was plus-9 in 14 minutes. Atlanta used seven players for more than a minute, and DeWanna Bonner and Isobel Borlase combined for six points in about 26 minutes. All five Dream starters played at least 29 minutes, and Jordin Canada and Howard each passed 38.

Photo: Golden State Valkyries / WNBA.com. Gabby Williams shoots over Atlanta's Rhyne Howard in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Oct. 17, 2026.

Williams' second quarter

Williams went 0-for-4 in the first quarter. In the second she shot 6-for-9 for 16 points, tied for the third-most in a Finals quarter behind Jackie Young's 21 and Angel McCoughtry's 19, and a career high for any quarter. She scored the last seven points of a 10-0 run with a layup off a ghost screen, a corner three in semi-transition for the lead, and a steal she took coast to coast for a lefty finish, as the team's recap describes it. Golden State won the quarter 28-17 and led 42-39 at half.

The foul line closed it. Williams hit two with 1:18 left to put Golden State ahead, per AP, and two more with 4.1 seconds left, six of the seven points in the closing 7-0 run. She finished 8-for-22 from the field, 7-for-8 at the line and plus-16 in 33 minutes. "She's showing that when we need some buckets, she's willing to go out there, get to her spots and take over," Natalie Nakase said.

Game 2 on Monday

Game 2 is Monday at Chase Center at 5 p.m. PT. Saturday's crowd of 18,064 was Golden State's 50th straight sellout, and the Valkyries are unbeaten at home this postseason.

Sources

• Golden State Valkyries: Gabby Williams leads the way as Valkyries take Game 1 (Reese two feet in the paint and 11 on 5-for-6 in the first quarter, 16-point quarter, ghost screen, semi-transition corner three, coast-to-coast lefty layup, Finals ranks, Reese 0-for-5 after the first, Stokes quote, 2-for-19 fourth, bench 20-6, Charles 10 rebounds, 50th sellout, unbeaten at home, Nakase quote)
• WNBA official box score, Dream at Valkyries, Oct. 17, 2026 (score by quarter, minutes, shooting lines)
• AP via ABC News: Gabby Williams' 26 points lifts Valkyries to 68-64 win in WNBA Finals opener (free throws at 1:18 and 4.1 seconds, 32.1 percent, 7 of 33 from three)
• Sports Illustrated: How Gabby Williams, Valkyries gutted out Game 1 (Reese quote, 46-for-142, 17 points off turnovers, Atlanta among the league's most tenacious defenses in steals and takeaways, Reese no shots in the final eight minutes)
• Yahoo Sports: Angel Reese on Game 1 (Smesko on touches, Gray back from hand injury, Dream unbeaten in five playoff games entering the Finals)