Veronica Burton's 28-Foot Three Beats the Aces 83-81 for a 2-0 Valkyries Lead

Photo: WNBA.com. Official Veronica Burton headshot, Golden State Valkyries.

Veronica Burton hit a 28-foot three with 41.5 seconds left Wednesday night at Chase Center, and the Golden State Valkyries held off the Las Vegas Aces 83-81 for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five WNBA semifinals.

The 83-81 win puts Golden State one victory from the WNBA Finals in its second season, and the defending champions now face elimination in Game 3 on Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET in Las Vegas.

Burton's three was her only field goal of the night. She finished 1-of-3, both misses from deep, with eight points, five of them at the line. In Game 1 she sat down with 7:29 left in the third quarter and never came back, per the Associated Press. Burton said Gabby Williams gave her the ball twice on the winning possession. "The second one I knew that had to go up," she told reporters.

Golden State needed the shot because its offense stalled for most of the fourth quarter. Kaitlyn Chen's driving layup made it 70-61 with 8:08 left. The Valkyries did not make another field goal until Williams hit a 13-foot pull-up with 1:25 to go. Over those 6:43, Golden State scored four points, all on free throws, and turned it over four times on a Chen bad pass, a Williams lost ball, a shot-clock violation and a Burton offensive foul. Las Vegas scored 15 in the same window. Dana Evans hit a three with 2:43 left, Chelsea Gray tied it 74-74 with another at 2:10, both off Jackie Young passes, and A'ja Wilson drove for a 76-74 lead with 1:36 left, the first Aces lead of the night.

Williams answered 11 seconds later to tie it. Gray's 29-footer went up late, and the possession ended as a shot-clock violation with 1:01 left. Golden State came down tied, and Burton let it go from 28 feet over Wilson's arm.

Kiah Stokes closed it without scoring. She went 0-for-1 in 29 minutes, the same zero she posted in Game 1, when she had 14 rebounds and four blocks. With 35.2 seconds left, after Gray missed a 22-foot three, the rebound became a Stokes-Young jump ball, and Burton came away with it. After the free-throw trade at the end, Young made the first of two with 5.9 seconds left and missed the second. Gray grabbed it and went under the rim for a reverse layup, and Stokes blocked it at 3.0. Burton picked up the loose ball.

Photo: WNBA.com. Tiffany Hayes guards Jackie Young, Aces at Valkyries, WNBA semifinals Game 2, Chase Center.

Tiffany Hayes built the lead that Las Vegas spent the night chasing. She scored 21 off the bench in 17 minutes on 6-of-10, plus 8-of-8 at the line. Ten of those points came in the second quarter between 9:20 and 5:50, when a 19-13 game became 31-16. Seven more came in 87 seconds late in the third, pushing 55-45 to 62-47, and two Kayla Thornton free throws made it 64-47, the 17-point high. Hayes played for the Aces before Golden State and missed the Valkyries' first playoff run last year with a left knee injury, per AP.

The Golden State bench outscored Las Vegas 34-14 after a 27-7 edge in Game 1, per ESPN, and it got there with Janelle Salaun, the unanimous Sixth Player of the Year, playing four minutes and scoring two.

Las Vegas fixed most of what beat it on Sunday. The rebounding gap went from 52-25 in Game 1 to 30-25, and Golden State's offensive-board edge fell from 17-2 to 10-6. Stephanie Talbot scored 10 in her first game of the playoffs and Evans was back, with Jewell Loyd out with a left leg injury, per ESPN. The Aces shot 44 percent to Golden State's 41 and 42 percent from three to 34. Wilson scored 24 on 9-of-16 with seven rebounds, and Gray had 19 with six assists. Young went 2-of-7 from the floor but made 8-of-10 free throws and handed out eight assists. The hole came early. Las Vegas scored 11 in the first quarter and trailed 42-31 at halftime, then won the fourth 26-17. Becky Hammon called it "a really abysmal first half."

Las Vegas went 3-0 against Golden State in the regular season. Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five WNBA series are 19-0, per ESPN. A win Friday at Michelob ULTRA Arena would make Golden State the first expansion team to reach the Finals within two years of its founding, per ESPN.

Sources

• AP via WNBA.com: Game Recap, Aces vs. Valkyries, Semifinals Game 2. Oct 7, 2026. Burton three with 41 seconds left and her lone basket. Young missed second free throw, Stokes block on Gray. Shot-clock violation at 1:01. Burton sat with 7:29 left in the third of Game 1. Hayes vs. her former team, missed 2025 playoffs with a left knee injury. Hammon and Burton quotes.
• ESPN box score: Aces at Valkyries, Game 2. Oct 7, 2026. Final 83-81. Quarters LV 11-20-24-26, GS 19-23-24-17. FG LV 25-57, GS 24-58. 3PT 8-19 and 10-29. FT LV 23-26, GS 25-27. Rebounds GS 30-25, offensive GS 10-6. Player lines. GS leads 2-0.
• ESPN play-by-play: Aces at Valkyries, Game 2. Oct 7, 2026. Chen layup at 8:08, Williams pull-up at 1:25, GS turnovers in between. Evans and Gray threes. Wilson go-ahead layup at 1:36. Burton 28-foot three at 41.5. Jump ball at 35.2. Stokes block at 3.0. Hayes scoring runs. 64-47 lead at 1:47 of the third.
• ESPN: Valkyries lean on depth in Game 2 vs. Aces, now 1 win from Finals. Oct 8, 2026. Aces' first lead with 1:36 left. Burton three over Wilson. Talbot's first playoff game. First expansion team to reach the Finals within two years of its founding.
• ESPN: How the Valkyries and Dream took 2-0 leads in the semis. Oct 8, 2026. Game 3 Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Teams up 2-0 in a best-of-five are 19-0.
• ESPN: Aces guard Jewell Loyd ruled out for Game 2 vs. Valkyries. Oct 7, 2026. Loyd left leg injury. Evans and Talbot had been sidelined. Game 1 bench 27-7.
• ESPN: Valkyries' Janelle Salaun unanimous Sixth Player of the Year. Michael Voepel, Oct 4, 2026. Salaün received all 74 votes from a national media panel.
• ESPN box score: Aces at Valkyries, Game 1. Oct 4, 2026. Rebounds 52-25, offensive 17-2. Stokes 0 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks.
• ESPN game page: Valkyries at Aces, Game 3. Oct 9, 2026. Regular-season series LV 3-0.
• The Dyme: Valkyries Out-Rebound Aces 52-25 to Take Game 1, 71-60. Oct 4, 2026.
• Photo: WNBA.com. Official Veronica Burton headshot, Golden State Valkyries.
• Photo: WNBA.com. Tiffany Hayes guards Jackie Young, Aces at Valkyries, WNBA semifinals Game 2, Chase Center.