Gabby Williams Scores 30, Valkyries Win WNBA Title

Gabby Williams buried a clutch 3-pointer right after Atlanta tied it at 57 with 2:41 left, and the Golden State Valkyries never let go. Williams finished with 30 points as the Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history on Saturday night at Chase Center, winning the championship in only their second season, per the AP.

Let that sink in. This is an expansion franchise that made the playoffs in Year 1 and won it all in Year 2. Owner Joe Lacob promised a title within five years when the Bay Area got the team. He beat his own deadline by three. Williams took home Finals MVP, and the sellout crowd chanting "Gabby! Gabby!" through the fourth quarter knew it before the trophy came out.

Williams Took Over After Halftime

Atlanta led 30-24 at the break, and in this series the halftime leader had won all six previous games. Coach Natalie Nakase told Williams the game would open up for her. It did. Williams scored Golden State's final 11 points of the third quarter, then kept hitting in the fourth.

The night came down to the last minute. Williams hit two free throws with 1:40 left, and Kiah Stokes added a late basket. Allisha Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds to go to keep Atlanta alive, but the Dream then forced a jump ball between Gray and Williams. Veronica Burton corralled the tip and calmly made two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to seal it.

Williams shot 10 of 23, 4 of 8 from three, and went 6 for 6 at the line. She joins Penny Taylor (Phoenix, 2007) as the only players to score 30 or more in a winner-take-all Finals game.

The Supporting Cast Showed Up

Stokes, now a four-time WNBA champion, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked two shots. Burton, who was cut by Dallas two years ago, put up 10 points and 10 rebounds. Tiffany Hayes, 37 and out of retirement, scored 11 against the franchise she played 10 seasons for.

Those three were part of the move that flipped the series. Golden State fell behind 2-1, and Nakase changed her starting lineup for Game 4, putting Kaila Charles and Hayes in and bringing Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini off the bench. The Valkyries did not lose again.

Heartbreak for Atlanta

The Dream came up short in their fourth Finals trip. Jordin Canada led them with 18 points, Gray had 16, and Angel Reese finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. Rhyne Howard tied the game late but went 0 for 7 from deep, and Atlanta shot just 6 of 30 from three as a team. That was the series right there: a cold shooting night in the biggest game of the year.

DeWanna Bonner still made history in the loss, becoming the first player in WNBA history to reach 600 career postseason defensive rebounds.

Smacktok Pick Lean for Next Season

Nakase called Williams "our closer," and she scored her team's last 11 points of the third and the go-ahead three in the final three minutes of a Game 7. When the WNBA comes back, we are leaning higher on Williams points in Golden State's big games, because this team clearly runs its late offense through her. Ballhalla has a banner now, and Gabby Williams hung it.