Arya News - Gabby Williams, named Most Valuable Player, sets records for most points (137) and most steals (18) in the WNBA Finals.
In a near-single-handed performance, Gabby Williams helped the Golden State Valkyries defeat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in game seven of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Finals to give the West Coast franchise a championship in the second year of its existence.
Williams scored 28 of her game-high 30 points in the second half to force a turnaround and bag the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in San Francisco, California, on Saturday.
Kiah Stokes converted a Williams miss into a key hoop with 53 seconds left to the deafening cheers of “Ballhalla”, as the Valkyries’ home crowd is known at the Chase Center.
In what was mostly a defensive struggle, Williams made the difference in the end, including winning a jump ball over Allisha Gray with 8.3 seconds to go.
With the likes of former San Francisco Giants superstar Barry Bonds and multiple NBA title-winner Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors rooting her on, Veronica Burton was fouled with 5.1 seconds remaining and produced the final points in the Valkyries’ storybook season.
Kiah Stokes and Gabby Williams celebrate after winning [Ezra Shaw/Getty Images via AFP] On a night when the WNBA had its first game seven in a championship final series, strength in numbers was credited with propelling the second-year franchise to historic heights.
From owner Joe Lacob to coach Natalie Nakase and MVP Williams, one number stood out: 18,064.
“Ballhalla,” Lacob screamed into a microphone in tribute to the capacity crowd during the trophy ceremony.
Williams overcame a two-point first half to become the first player in WNBA postseason history to score 28 points in a half.
The Valkyries’ only All-Star, who was added as a free agent in the offseason, joined Lacob in thanking a crowd that has sold out every game in franchise history, setting league attendance records.
“Honestly, everyone here, not just the players and the staff. [Also] the community, the city, the [San Francisco] Bay [Area],” she gushed on court shortly after having been named the MVP.
“Y’all have been pouring into me all season. It’s a long season and y’all gave me energy.
“When the energy is this good and positive, it’s easy to come to work every day. That’s what I came here for.”
Gabby Williams holds up the Most Valuable Player trophy [Kelley L Cox/Reuters] Playing 38 of the game’s 40 minutes, Williams saved enough energy to do a Stephen Curry impersonation on a go-ahead three-pointer with two minutes and 18 seconds (2:18) to go and later win a key jump ball, and Kiah Stokes converted a rare Williams late miss into a key hoop with 53 seconds left, sending the violet-clad crowd into a frenzy.
In the end, Nakase recognised the enormity of piecing together a bunch of players left unprotected in the expansion draft, a handful of international imports and one key free-agent signing into the league’s second-best regular-season record and a victory in the first-ever game seven in WNBA history.
“This is for all the people out there who are underrated, misunderstood. This is for all y’all,” she insisted from midcourt to her home fans and a national television audience as well. “This is proof: If you put all your heart and all your soul [into it], you can win championships.”
Rallying from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter, the Valkyries were tied at 53-all midway through the fourth after Gray connected on a short jumper for Atlanta with 5:14 to play.
Williams, after spearheading an earlier rally, came alive again. She hit two free throws with 3:34 to go and a driving hoop 32 seconds later as the teams exchanged baskets. She then buried arguably the most important shot in Valkyries’ history — a 31-footer to give Golden State the lead for good at 60-57 with 2:18 to go.
She added two free throws, and when Stokes tipped in her teammate’s miss in the final minute, Chase Center erupted as Golden State had a 64-57 advantage that it was able to protect through the end.
“We didn’t let anyone put a limit on us all year,” demanded Burton, who backed Williams with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. “When you work hard, and you put your head down and drive, anything’s possible.”
Williams’s 30 points were her second-most in a playoff game, topped only by the 36 she had in game two of Golden State’s first-round series win over the Dallas Wings on September 30. She made 10 of her 23 field-goal attempts on Saturday when neither team shot well.
She set records for most points (137) and most steals (18) in a WNBA Finals. She also found time for four of Golden State’s eight blocks in the championship game.
Veronica Burton and her Golden State Valkyries teammates react at the final buzzer [Heather Diehl/Getty Images via AFP] Besides holding Dream star Angel Reese to eight points, Stokes had a game-high 13 rebounds for the Valkyries, who won despite making just five of their 20 three-point shots. The Golden State centre also had two blocks, giving her a WNBA Finals-record 19 en route to her fourth title.
Tiffany Hayes also aided the Golden State cause with 11 points.
Jordin Canada had 18 points and Gray 16 for Atlanta, which shot just 33.3 percent overall (23 of 69) and went 6-for-30 from beyond the arc.
“I’m just grateful I got to go to war with this group,” Reese, who led Atlanta with 12 rebounds, assured the media afterwards. “It’s tough in the moment, but we’ll be back.”
Dream coach Karl Smesko lamented what he called “a lot of little stretches” of subpar play, including a game-opening 5:19 in which Atlanta went scoreless, falling behind 8-0 while missing eight straight shots — four three-pointers and four shots from inside the arc that were all blocked — and tossing in four turnovers.
“It’s beyond frustrating that we didn’t accomplish what we set out to accomplish,” he admitted at his postgame news conference. “Those first five minutes … you can’t get those five minutes back.”
Angel Reese of the Atlanta Dream leaves the court after the game [Heather Diehl/Getty Images via AFP]