4 minutes reading
Reporting from CHASE CENTER
The Las Vegas Aces were kryptonite for the Golden State Valkyries during the regular season, winning all three meetings.
On Sunday, the Valkyries flipped the script, beating the defending WNBA champions 71-60 at Chase Center to take Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals behind 25 points from forward Gabby Williams.
Four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson finished with 24 points for Las Vegas, but the Aces shot just 34 percent from the field and spent most of the afternoon chasing Golden State, leading for less than five minutes all game.
After such an intense game Friday night for Golden State to advance, the second-year franchise could have come out flat and dropped Game 1. But Williams said that was never an option:
“It didn’t feel like there was any emotional hangover. We were more focused on like, ‘what do we need to tighten up for Vegas?’ Because if we play [similar to Friday] Vegas is gonna get us.”
A big series will be needed from Valkyries center Kiah Stokes as she will be matched up against Wilson on the defensive end. She was able to be successful in the first half, with a block on Wilson but it was also her collecting nine rebounds. She also added three additional blocks in the second half.
Stokes said:
“I didn’t really like how I played during the regular season against the Aces. So just mentally, I was just like… ‘it’s now or never. This is the semis. There’s no time to think too much about it.’ I just knew what I had to do, and shoutout to my teammates for trusting me.”
Nakase called Stokes the “MVP of the Game” after “emptying the tank”:
“Obviously her matching up with A’ja [Wilson] it is a really tough task, and I thought she did an amazing job [by] continuing to keep her off rhythm as much as we can, but also a team effort too.”
In a tightly contested opening quarter, both stars came to play, each reaching double figures in her own style.
Wilson had her mid-range game working, hitting 4 of 5 shots and both free throws in the first 10 minutes for 10 points. Williams scored 13, knocking down two 3-pointers and making all three of her free throws.
A 10-0 Golden State run bridged the first two quarters and gave the Valkyries a nine-point lead early in the second. But the defending champions clawed back. Las Vegas held the Valkyries scoreless over the final 4:22 of the half and went into the break trailing 34-31.
Second-chance points were a factor in the first 20 minutes, with Golden State scoring 15 to Las Vegas’ none. The Valkyries finished with a 52-25 rebounding edge, including 17 offensive boards to the Aces’ two.
Golden State will need a big series from center Kiah Stokes, who draws the Wilson assignment on defense. In the first half alone, Stokes blocked Wilson three times and collected nine rebounds. She finished with 14.
The Valkyries defense held Las Vegas to three made field goals in the first seven minutes of the third quarter, and an 18-foot pull-up from Williams stretched the lead back to nine at 49-40.
With Stokes picking up her third foul, Aminata Gueye entered the fray. Gueye played only 10 minutes in the first round against the Dallas Wings, but she scored seven points over the final four minutes of the quarter, including a timely three-point play that brought the sellout Ballhalla crowd to life yet again and put Golden State up 52-42. She finished with nine points in 13 minutes.
Las Vegas guard Jewell Loyd left early in the third quarter with a left leg injury and did not return.
In the fourth quarter, Williams added five more points, but it was guard Kaitlyn Chen chipping in four of her 11 points that kept the Aces out of range. Chen’s driving layup with two minutes left made it 71-58, Golden State’s largest lead, and the Valkyries now lead the best-of-five series 1-0.
The Aces’ 60 points were a season low, prompting head coach Becky Hammon to label Sunday one of her “outhustled” team’s “most atrocious games of the season.”
Hammon summed it up in straightforward fashion to end her postgame press conference:
“I mean it’s good news, bad news. Good news is we played like ass and only lost by [11].”
Up Next
Game 2 is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Chase Center and will be broadcast on Peacock and NBCSN.
Nakase addresses Friday’s health scare
Before taking questions at her pregame press conference, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase addressed going down on the sideline in the final minutes of Friday’s Game 3 against the Wings:
“I’m good. Had a little exhaustion.”
Nakase was checked out by doctors Saturday. She said her late father, Gary, once told her never to let her career come first if her health or mental health got complicated.
As a result, Nakase said she will be more proactive about her health and is considering wearing a heart monitor to have more information on herself.
Salaun honored with end-of-season award
Before Game 1, the WNBA announced Janelle Salaun as the 2026 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year. The 6-foot-2 French forward led all WNBA reserves in scoring with a career-high 12.7 points per game.
Salaun is the award’s first unanimous winner, receiving all 74 votes. She was presented her trophy and posed for a photo with her teammates moments before tipoff.
Stars in attendance
Twelve-time Olympic medalist and Vallejo native Natalie Coughlin was at the Sunday matinee.
Los Angeles Sparks forward and former Stanford star Nneka Ogwumike, who announced this season would be her last, was also spotted inside Chase Center and drew a big reception when shown on the big screen.
Bay Area musicians Too Short and Kehlani were also on hand Sunday afternoon to support the hometown team inside Ballhalla.
