On a Halloween night in San Francisco's Chase Center, a young franchise found its moment in the largest stage a women's sport can offer. Gabby Williams, carrying the Golden State Valkyries through a Game 7 that had never before been played in WNBA Finals history, scored thirty points and steadied her team against the Atlanta Dream. The win, 68-63, brought a championship to a club only in its second season and placed it beside the Bay Area's celebrated Warriors title of 2022. It is the kind of story that reminds a city how quickly belief can become a banner.
Gabby Williams Scores 30 as Valkyries Edge Dream 68-63 in Game 7 to Capture WNBA Title
Gabby Williams took over a Game 7.
Mark
Second season, and they're champions. Why does that stand out?
Mimi
Because the Valkyries are barely established, and they beat an Atlanta team that has now missed in four tries at a title. And it took a Game 7, the first ever in a WNBA Finals.
Mark
Williams carried it. What did she actually do?
Mimi
Thirty points, including the team's last 11 of the third quarter. Then a three-pointer and two free throws in the final two minutes, plus 13 rebounds and two blocks.
Luke
Worth noting the three-pointer came after Howard tied it at 57. That's the stretch that decided it, and it's confirmed in the game account.
Mark
And her backstory matters here?
Mimi
She left Seattle for Golden State, drawn by its close-knit culture, and came back to where she played youth ball. The reporting says she wanted to build something special.
Luke
That's her motivation as the story frames it. We don't have her own words here, so I'd treat it as the narrative, not a quote.
Mark
Atlanta made it close, didn't they?
Mimi
Gray's free throws with 11 seconds left, then a jump ball, and Burton's two free throws with 5.1 seconds to go. Five points was the final gap.
Luke
Right, and what we don't know from this piece is how the final seconds played out after that. The score tells us it held.
O Pulso
- Game 7 stayed within a few possessions until the final minutes, keeping a sellout crowd on its feet.
- Williams erupted in the third quarter, scoring the team's last 11 points and turning the game toward Golden State.
- Atlanta fought back late, with Gray's free throws and a forced jump ball keeping the margin uncomfortably thin.
- Veronica Burton's free throws with 5.1 seconds left sealed the win and ended Atlanta's final push.
- The Valkyries' title lands as a fast-rising franchise's first trophy, while the dream-chasing Dream absorb their fourth heartbreak.
On a Halloween night in San Francisco's Chase Center, a young franchise found its moment in the largest stage a women's sport can offer. Gabby Williams, carrying the Golden State Valkyries through a Game 7 that had never before been played in WNBA Finals history, scored thirty points and steadied her team against the Atlanta Dream. The win, 68-63, brought a championship to a club only in its second season and placed it beside the Bay Area's celebrated Warriors title of 2022. It is the kind of story that reminds a city how quickly belief can become a banner.
On Halloween night at Chase Center, the arena glowed in violet and the crowd sensed that something historic was near. Gabby Williams had been waiting for this kind of game. In the third quarter she scored her team's last 11 points, and by the final buzzer she had 30. Fans chanted her name through the closing minutes, and she answered them.
The game refused to settle. Rhyne Howard tied it at 57 with under three minutes left, and Williams responded with a three-pointer and two clutch free throws. Atlanta would not fold. Allisha Gray hit her own free throws and forced a jump ball, but Veronica Burton came up with the loose ball and iced it at the line with 5.1 seconds remaining.
For the Dream, Jordin Canada scored 18 and Gray added 16, but it was another near miss for a franchise now denied in four title bids. For Williams, the night completed a journey that began when she left Seattle for a close-knit Golden State culture and returned to the Bay Area where she had first played youth basketball. When the buzzer sounded, players rushed the floor and confetti fell as the building, nicknamed Ballhalla, became something a little more haunted and entirely triumphant.
On Halloween night at Chase Center, with the arena full of fans in violet, Gabby Williams took over a Game 7. By the end she had 30 points, and the Golden State Valkyries had beaten the Atlanta Dream 68-63 to win the WNBA championship in only their second season. It was the first Game 7 in the history of the WNBA Finals, and it lived up to the occasion.
Williams made her mark in the third quarter, when she scored her team's last 11 points of the period. She stayed dazzling through the fourth. Fans chanted "Gabby! Gabby!" throughout those final minutes, and she gave them reason to keep going.
The game stayed tight to the end. Rhyne Howard's layup tied it at 57 with 2:41 left. Williams answered with a clutch three-pointer, then made two free throws with 1:40 remaining. Kiah Stokes added a late basket. Williams also pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked two shots, finishing a postseason the source describes as spectacular.
Atlanta did not go quietly. Allisha Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds left, and the Dream then forced a jump ball, Gray against Williams. Veronica Burton corralled it and made two free throws with 5.1 seconds to go. That was the last real push Atlanta made.
For the Dream, the scoring was led by Jordin Canada with 18 points and Gray with 16. Angel Reese had eight points and 12 rebounds. It was another near miss for a franchise that has now been denied in four tries at a championship.
Williams's arrival in Golden State carries its own story. She left Seattle feeling good about joining the Valkyries and their close-knit culture, and she came back to the Bay Area, where she had played youth basketball, hoping to build something special. The title shows she did exactly that.
When the final buzzer sounded, the sellout crowd erupted. Players sprinted onto the floor to hug one another as confetti fell from the rafters. The building's nickname, "Ballhalla," had become "Boohalla" for the Halloween night, a haunted-themed twist on a raucous arena.
The championship gives the Bay Area a women's title to stand alongside the one the Golden State Warriors won in 2022, and it marks a remarkably fast rise for a team still in its second year.
Citações Notáveis
Fans chanted "Gabby! Gabby!" throughout the fourth quarter.— Los Angeles Times game recap
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