Gabby Williams Scores 30, Wins Finals MVP as Valkyries Beat Dream in Game 7 for First WNBA Title

Gabby Williams saved her best for the biggest game of the season. The Golden State Valkyries forward scored 30 points, 28 of them in the second half, as Golden State beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday night, Oct. 31, at Chase Center in San Francisco.

The win gave the Valkyries the championship in just their second season, and Williams was named Finals MVP, the AP reported. Her 28 second-half points set a WNBA Finals record for points in a half.

“I love moments like this,” Williams said, per the AP. “(Coach) Natalie (Nakase) told me to be patient in the first half. I listened to her.”

Who won the WNBA championship?

The Golden State Valkyries, who won the series 4-3. It was the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history, according to the AP, and the first title of Williams’ WNBA career.

How did Gabby Williams take over Game 7?

Atlanta led 30-24 at halftime, and the team leading at the break had won each of the first six games of the series, the AP noted. The Dream stretched the lead to 37-28 in the third quarter before their offense stalled, according to the Dream’s own recap.

Williams scored her team’s final 11 points of the third quarter, including eight straight, to give Golden State a 45-44 lead heading into the fourth. Late in the game, after Rhyne Howard’s layup tied it 57-57 with 2:41 left, Williams answered with a long 3-pointer, which the Dream’s recap measured at 31 feet, and then made two free throws with 1:40 remaining.

She finished with 30 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks, per ESPN’s box score. Williams joined Penny Taylor (Phoenix, 2007) as the only players in WNBA history to score 30 or more in a winner-take-all Finals game, the AP reported.

“Gabby is our closer, she stayed patient, she stayed with it,” Nakase said.

Veronica Burton and Kiah Stokes sealed it

Atlanta cut the gap to 66-63 on two Allisha Gray free throws with about 10 seconds left, then forced a jump ball between Gray and Williams. Veronica Burton came up with it and made two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to clinch the title.

“I’m just so blessed, this is insane!” said Burton, who was cut by Dallas two years ago, per the AP.

Kiah Stokes grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked two shots for Golden State, and her putback in the final minutes pushed the lead to 64-57, according to the Dream’s recap. The AP noted Stokes is now a four-time WNBA champion.

Williams also reflected on what Golden State meant to her career. “I just walked into a group full of love,” she said. “And that just changed the entire trajectory of my career.”

How did Angel Reese and the Dream play?

Jordin Canada led Atlanta with 18 points, and Gray added 16. They were the only Dream players in double figures, the team said. Golden State’s defense, the league’s best, largely took Angel Reese out of the game: she had eight points and 12 rebounds, per the AP.

The Dream shot 33.3% from the field and missed 24 of 30 3-pointers. Atlanta was denied in its fourth trip to the Finals and was trying to become the city’s fourth championship team, joining the Braves (1995, 2021) and Atlanta United (2018), the Dream noted. Veteran DeWanna Bonner became the first player in WNBA history to reach 600 career postseason defensive rebounds, according to the AP.

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