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Reporting from CHASE CENTER
After falling behind by as many as 16 points, the Golden State Valkyries roared back to defeat the Dallas Wings 77-73 Friday night at Chase Center, clinching their first playoff series win in franchise history and a bump to the WNBA semifinals.
Valkyries forward Gabby Williams finished with a team-high 19 points, 11 of them in the fourth quarter. She has proven to be the big-shot taker for this Golden State team throughout the three-game series — so much so that Tiffany Hayes dubbed her “Big Shot Gabby” postgame:
“She’s our dog. She’s our leader. She’s the one we go to, and she showed [everyone] exactly why she is who she is.”
Williams averaged 25 points in the first round. With a win-or-go-home Game 3 at stake, she said she relished the moment:
“I love high-pressure situations. I think I’m best when I don’t have a choice but to be my best. So I like being put into that position.”
Hayes added 18 points off the bench, and Veronica Burton posted a double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Kiah Stokes pulled down 13 rebounds.
As for Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, she appeared to take a lesson from Game 2, when Golden State chose not to foul while leading 93-90 and Dallas guard Arike Ogunbowale forced overtime with a corner 3 at 4.1 seconds.
Foul when up three.
Leading 75-72 with seven seconds to play, the Valkyries fouled Wings forward Alysha Clark before Dallas could put up a game-tying shot. Clark missed the first of her two free throws, all but sealing the win.
Moments earlier, with 1:40 left and Golden State trailing 72-71, Nakase collapsed to her knees while talking with an official. She was helped up by members of her coaching staff, appearing to be in discomfort.
Nakase finished the game on the sideline but did not speak to the media postgame. The Valkyries told ESPN afterward that she had been exhausted and lightheaded.
Assistant coach Kasib Powell addressed the media in her place, and said Nakase was feeling fine:
“It’s still new to us, we’re just trying to figure it out. We just know that we [saw] her afterward and she was fine, laughing, in great spirits. We’ll figure out more as we go, but I think she’s totally fine, she’s talking, she’s laughing in the back.”
Ogunbowale’s heroics in Game 2 — a WNBA playoff-record 45 points in a 108-100 Dallas overtime win — made her public enemy No. 1 on Friday night. The violet-clad crowd booed her from the moment the Wings lineup was introduced, and her first basket drew a heavy dose of jeers.
The Ballhalla boos then turned toward the officials when they wiped away a Williams layup and turned it into an offensive foul, ruling the 2026 All-Star made a swiping motion on the attempt. The crowd was ready for an elimination game.
Hayes brought instant offense off the bench, making two contested layups with her left hand. But Dallas finished the first quarter with a 19-14 lead after getting seven second-chance points on three offensive rebounds.
Dallas stretched its lead to as many as nine in the second quarter, but a 10-2 Valkyries run — boosted by a flagrant foul by Odyssey Sims on Cecilia Zandalasini, who made all three free throws — cut the Dallas lead to 28-27 with 4:50 left in the half.
Golden State grabbed its first lead of the game on a Hayes three-point play, bringing the sellout crowd to its feet at 33-31.
But the tandem of Paige Bueckers and Ogunbowale closed out the half for Dallas, combining to score the last 13 Wings points — capped by an 11-0 run — to take a 44-37 lead into halftime. Of the 25 second-quarter points scored by Dallas, 20 came from Bueckers or Ogunbowale.
After scoring 36 points in Game 2, Williams was held to two points in the first half, and as a team, the Valkyries made just 3 of 13 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Wings opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run, stretching their streak to 20 unanswered points and a 53-37 lead. They had completely flipped the game in their favor.
Golden State’s offense went ice cold at the worst time. In the first seven minutes of the third quarter, the Valkyries made just two of 15 shots.
But Golden State fought back. A 14-4 Valkyries run to close the third cut a once-16-point Dallas lead to five, 59-54. The crowd was set for a grandstand finish, fitting for an elimination game.
After making just six 3-pointers through three quarters, the Valkyries caught fire. Williams and Kaila Charles hit 3s around an Ogunbowale floater, and Charles’ 3 tied it 65-65 with 6:51 to go.
Stokes’ defense set up Burton on the other end, and Burton’s layup gave the Valkyries their first lead since it was 37-36 late in the second quarter.
But with Ogunbowale re-entering, she took matters into her own hands. A personal 7-0 run gave Dallas a 72-67 lead with 3:13 left. Ogunbowale finished with a game-high 30 points, but those were the last field goals of Dallas’ season.
Golden State answered with six straight points — a Charles putback, then a Williams layup and her 17-foot pull-up with 1:17 left for a 73-72 lead. With 13.1 seconds to go, Williams jumped back inbounds to grab her own miss on a play initially ruled Dallas’ ball, and a successful challenge from Nakase gave Golden State possession. The biggest call of the season.
From there, Williams sank all four of her free throws in the final nine seconds to put the series away.
Up Next
The Valkyries host the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the best-of-five WNBA semifinals Sunday at Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.
Golden State went winless in three regular-season games against the defending WNBA champions, but that may count for little — the teams haven’t met since June 21.
Stars in attendance
Filmmaker George Lucas was at Friday’s game and drew a warm ovation from the sellout crowd when he was shown on the big screen.
49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. was also there, ahead of San Francisco’s home game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium.
