4 minutes reading
Reporting from CHASE CENTER
In a game neither team could shoot its way out of, the Golden State Valkyries scored their final seven points from the free throw line and held off the Atlanta Dream 68-64 Saturday to take Game 1 of the 2026 WNBA Finals.
Gabby Williams, 0-for-4 in the first quarter, finished with a game-high 26 points, 16 of them in a second quarter that turned an eight-point deficit into a halftime lead. Her two free throws with 1:18 left gave Golden State a 65-64 lead it never gave back.
Williams said:
“I think we had the game right where we wanted it because it just came down to getting stops. That’s been our bread and butter all season. So we harp on it so much because we’ve built great defensive habits for these moments.”
Angel Reese had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta. Allisha Gray, who missed the last two games of the semifinals and was listed day-to-day after a minor procedure on her left hand, started and led the Dream with 19 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
The teams combined to shoot 46-of-142 (32.4%).
Before Saturday, Dream head coach Karl Semesko had guided his side to five straight playoff victories. Semesko said:
“I think it’s kind of the game everybody expected. It was two teams competing as hard as they can. Unfortunately, we had one bad defensive quarter where we had a few breakdowns, and then one bad offensive quarter in the fourth where we turned it over and didn’t have the kind of shot quality that we wanted, but you know I’m really proud of our team’s effort.”
Atlanta took the first quarter 22-14 behind Reese, who was 5-of-6 for 11 points in the period. Golden State ran off nine straight points to lead 14-11, then went scoreless the rest of the quarter as the Dream answered with 11 unanswered.
Atlanta’s lead reached nine twice early in the second before Williams took over. Seven straight Valkyries points — a layup, a 3-pointer and another layup, all hers in just over a minute — turned a 37-35 deficit into a 42-37 lead with 1:29 left in the half.
Golden State shot 69% (11-of-16) in the quarter and allowed just four field goals; Atlanta’s other seven points in the period came at the line. The Valkyries led 42-39 at the break.
They came out of halftime ice cold, going 1-of-12 from the field over the first 5:14 of the third quarter. Rhyne Howard‘s 3-pointer put Atlanta back in front, and the Dream pushed the lead to 50-44 before a 7-0 Valkyries run — capped by a Kaila Charles 3-pointer that rattled off the iron before dropping and a Laeticia Amihere layup — made it 51-50 with 2:58 to go.
Gray answered with two turnaround jumpers around a pair of Jordin Canada free throws, and Atlanta carried a 56-51 lead into the fourth. Through three quarters the Dream had attempted 17 free throws to Golden State’s five, making 14.
Two more from Howard made it 58-51 with 9:07 to play, Atlanta’s largest lead of the half. Eighteen seconds later Naz Hillmon was called for a flagrant-1 on Cecilia Zandalasini, who made just one of her three free throws. But the flagrant also gave Golden State the ball, and Tiffany Hayes hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to cut it to 58-55.
Atlanta kept the lead but lost its touch. Canada’s pull-up bank shot at 4:23 made it 62-59 for the Dream’s last field goal of the game. Howard’s two free throws with 3:12 left put Atlanta up 64-61, and the Valkyries scored the rest from the line: Williams twice at 2:15, twice more at 1:18 for the lead, Kiah Stokes once at 0:24 and Williams again with four seconds left after Howard’s fifth foul.
Atlanta missed its final nine shots from the field over the last 4:23 and finished the fourth quarter 2-of-19.
All since Game 2 of the first round against the Dallas Wings, the Valkyries have played in tight games that have been decided in the final minutes and head coach Natalie Nakase felt that everyone came together to ultimate close out Game 1:
“I thought tonight, our staff did a great job calling when to switch the coverage, how to finish the coverage. We did a great job just studying like their their plays… It’s kind of been our philosophy, especially down the stretch in close games… So there’s a lot of familiarity and composure down the stretch.”
Up next
Game 2 is Monday at Chase Center, with tipoff at 5 p.m. on USA Network and Peacock. The series moves to Atlanta’s State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4. Golden State is 4-0 against the Dream this year, including a regular-season sweep.
Engelbert’s last Finals
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert held her Finals news conference before Game 1, her last as commissioner. Engelbert announced in September she will step down at the end of December after seven years in the role.
She praised the Valkyries for how far the organization has come in two seasons, and the Dream for reaching the Finals for the fourth time in the franchise’s 19 years.
Star watch
Bay Area rapper Larry June performed at halftime for the sold-out crowd, and Too $hort kept his perfect playoff attendance record at Ballhalla.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist and Santa Clara native Kerri Walsh Jennings was in the building, as was a Warriors contingent that included Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Steve Kerr and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg.
