Valkyries beat Dream 68-63 in Game 7 to win first WNBA title

The Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday night. It is the club's first WNBA championship. It came in the team's second season.

Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 30 points. The game was the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history.

How the game was decided

Williams scored 15 points in the third quarter. The Valkyries led 45-44 entering the fourth quarter. The score was later tied at 53. A Williams three-pointer then gave the Valkyries a 60-57 lead late in the game. They did not trail again.

According to ESPN, the Valkyries trailed by six points at halftime. ESPN reports that Williams scored two points in the first half and 28 in the final 20 minutes. According to AP, she scored her team's final 11 points of the third quarter. The Guardian reported that she hit three consecutive three-pointers in that quarter to cut Atlanta's lead to two.

According to The Guardian, Allisha Gray's mid-range jumper tied the game at 53 with 4:52 remaining. The Valkyries retook the lead about a minute and a half later on a Williams free throw. ESPN reported that Williams scored nine straight points after the tie and had four blocks in the game.

According to ESPN, Williams was named Finals MVP and broke the WNBA Finals record for points in a half. The reports do not identify the previous record.

"[Coach] Natalie [Nakase] told me to be patient in the first half. I listened to her," ESPN quoted Williams as saying. ESPN also quoted her as saying: "I love moments like this."

According to ESPN, Williams, 30, joined the Valkyries this season after spells with Chicago and Seattle. This is her first WNBA title.

Other performances

According to The Guardian, Tiffany Hayes scored 11 points and won her first WNBA title at age 37. Veronica Burton had 10 points and 10 rebounds. For Atlanta, Jordin Canada scored 18 points and Gray 16. Angel Reese had eight points and 12 rebounds.

The Guardian reported that the Valkyries won Games 1, 4, 5 and 7. They entered the postseason as the No 2 seed. They beat Dallas and then swept the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.

What is disputed

The reports differ on the time left when Williams's three-pointer made it 60-57. The Guardian gives 2 minutes 14 seconds. ESPN gives 2 minutes 18 seconds.

What the reports do not include

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include an official WNBA statement or box score. They do not include comments from Dream players or staff. They do not give the calendar date of the game or attendance figures.

Analysis

The result gives the Valkyries a championship in only their second season, which may shape how other young franchises view their own timelines. The Finals also produced the league's first Game 7, one year after the WNBA expanded the series to best-of-seven. That could feed discussion of the format, though one series is a limited basis for conclusions. Williams's second-half performance may raise her profile further. For Atlanta, the reports reviewed include no comment from the team, so its assessment of the series and its next steps remain unclear.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.