Gabby Williams Scores 28 in One Half as Valkyries Win First WNBA Title

Gabby Williams had two points at halftime. She finished with 30, the Finals MVP award, and a championship. The Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday night at Chase Center in San Francisco, winning the first title in franchise history in just their second season. Williams scored 28 of her 30 points in the second half, a WNBA Finals record for points in a half, and carried a team that trailed by six at the break and had spent the season hearing it had no stars.

The Associated Press, via TSN, reported that Williams broke the Finals record for points in a half and earned MVP honors. She hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter, scored the final 11 points of that quarter to give Golden State a 45-44 lead, and then scored nine straight points in the fourth, capped by a deep 3-pointer that made it 60-57 with 2:18 left. Sports Illustrated reported that her 30 points tied the most ever scored in a winner-take-all Finals game. She also had four blocks, and one of them, on Dream guard Jordin Canada in the fourth quarter, was first called a foul and then reversed after a Golden State challenge.

The game in short

Atlanta led 30-24 at halftime after holding Golden State to 10 points in the second quarter. Williams had made almost no mark on the game. The third quarter changed everything: a 17-3 Valkyries run, three Williams 3-pointers, and a one point lead heading into the fourth. The game was tied at 53 in the fourth quarter before Williams scored nine in a row. Atlanta never recovered the lead. Quarter scores were 14-12, 10-18, 21-14, and 23-19.

Why it matters

CNN reported that the Valkyries became the fastest expansion team among the major North American sports leagues, the NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLB and NFL, to win a title, doing it in their second year. TSN reported that Williams joined Penny Taylor as the only players in WNBA history to score 30 or more points in a winner-take-all Finals game. She did it for a roster with no All-WNBA selection this season, a point Williams made herself after the game. Man, all it took was good people, she said, in comments reported by the New York Post. All we heard last year: we do not have no stars, we do not have no talent. Yeah, right.

Across the seven game series, Williams averaged 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game, according to the Norwich Bulletin account of the Connecticut players on the roster. She was also the runner-up for the league Defensive Player of the Year award this season, per the AP report, which showed in the four blocks.

Key numbers

• Final score: Valkyries 68, Dream 63
• Williams points: 30, with 28 in the second half
• Williams third quarter: 15 points, including the final 11 of the quarter
• Williams blocks: 4
• Williams series average: 19.5 points per game
• Halftime score: Dream 30, Valkyries 24
• Franchise age: second season, first title

The context

Golden State entered the league as an expansion team and reached the summit faster than any expansion team in the five major North American leagues. The win came on Halloween night at Chase Center, which home fans had taken to calling Boohalla for the occasion, Sports Illustrated reported. Former President Barack Obama posted congratulations to the new champions on X, writing that Ballhalla was rocking all season, in a post quoted in reaction coverage on Sunday.

What happens next

The Valkyries are champions in year two, and the league now has to reckon with a title winner built without a single All-WNBA player. For Williams, 30 years old and the fourth overall pick in her draft class, the Finals MVP award caps a season in which she was also among the league best defenders. Parade and celebration details had not been announced when this report was filed. Atlanta, which led at halftime of a Game 7 on the road, goes home with the loss and a core that pushed the series the full seven games.