WNBA Recap & Results | October 17, 2026
The WNBA Finals opened at Chase Center with a game neither offense wanted any part of, and Golden State won it 68-64 behind Gabby Williams, who missed her first four shots and finished with 26. The Valkyries are in the Finals in just their second season, a year faster than Atlanta, which joined the league in 2008 and made its first Finals in its third season, in 2010, then returned in 2011 and 2013, losing to Seattle and then twice to Minnesota. The Dream entered this series 0-9 in Finals games. Atlanta led by five entering the fourth, then made two field goals and scored eight points in the final quarter, ending a 10-game winning streak, and Allisha Gray, back from the hand injury that cost her two semifinal games, led the Dream with 19. Here's how it all went down, plus a look at how the card held up, and where the series stands.
Valkyries Win Defensive Slugfest, Take Game 1 of the Finals
Atlanta Dream 64, Golden State Valkyries 68
For the first eight minutes, Golden State's best player looked like she might be overwhelmed by the stage. Gabby Williams missed her first four shots, Angel Reese scored 11 of Atlanta's 22 first-quarter points, and the Dream, helped by an 11-0 stretch, led 22-14 after one. Then Williams found her spots. She scored 16 in the second quarter on 6-of-9 shooting with three threes, the Valkyries shot nearly 69% as a team and won the frame 28-17, and the Chase Center crowd finally had something to shout about. Golden State led 42-39 at the half.
The third quarter belonged to Atlanta. The Dream opened the second half on an 11-2 run, Golden State answered with three straight baskets and a few Atlanta turnovers to force a Karl Smesko timeout, and the Valkyries still managed just nine points in the quarter, going 4-of-25 from the field. Atlanta carried a 56-51 lead into the fourth, with Gray, back from her hand injury, up to a team-high 19. The Dream's biggest lead was nine. Golden State's was five.
Then Atlanta's offense simply stopped. The Dream made two field goals in the fourth quarter, scored eight points, and Gray never scored again. Golden State did its work on the other end. A steal and score by Kaila Charles and a block on Rhyne Howard left the Valkyries down three with 5:46 remaining, Williams checked back in, and Kiah Stokes's tip-in off her driving layup gave a stalled offense a little life. In the final 1:19, Golden State grabbed five defensive rebounds and flipped a 64-63 deficit. Reese's fourth foul, a reach on Williams, sent her to the line, and her two free throws put the Valkyries ahead 65-64, their first lead since the third quarter. Reese was whistled for her fifth foul on the next trip, Stokes made one of two for a 66-64 lead with 23.8 seconds left, Gray's three-point heave came up short, and Howard's foul sent Williams back to the line, where she made both to close it out. Final: 68-64, Golden State leads the series 1-0.
Neither team could shoot. Golden State made 25 of 78 shots (32.1%) and 7 of 33 threes (21.2%), and Atlanta made 21 of 64 (32.8%) and 4 of 25 threes (16.0%). Golden State's defense decided it, blocking 10 shots, four of them by Kiah Stokes, and turning 12 Atlanta turnovers into 17 points to Atlanta's eight off Golden State's 10. The Valkyries also won the glass, 57 rebounds to 47, and their bench outscored Atlanta's 20-6.
Williams finished with 26 on 8-of-22 shooting, scoring 16 in the second quarter and eight in the fourth, with three threes, 7 of 8 at the line, and eight points off turnovers. She limped through the final two minutes after Jordin Canada backed into her knee. Charles pulled down 10 rebounds with two steals, Stokes had nine points, seven rebounds, and four blocks, and Laeticia Amihere added five points on 2-of-2 shooting. Everyone else was cold: Tiffany Hayes went 1-of-12 and left in the final minutes after a hard fall, Cecilia Zandalasini shot 3-of-10, Veronica Burton 2-of-7, and Kayla Thornton did not score.
Gray led Atlanta with 19 points on 5-of-19 shooting, going 8-of-8 at the line. Reese had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, five of them offensive, but committed four turnovers and was whistled for five fouls, the last two on reaches that sent Williams and Stokes to the line. Howard shot 3-of-14, Canada had eight points and seven assists on 3-of-9 shooting with three turnovers, and DeWanna Bonner scored two points. Atlanta's bench produced six points. The loss ended the Dream's 10-game winning streak, their first defeat since August 28. Smesko said it stung because his team was right there, but that it would motivate them. Swept in all three of its previous Finals, Atlanta is now 0-10 all time in Finals games.
GSV 68 · ATL 64
GSV Takes Game 1.
Golden State shot 32.1% and still won, because Atlanta made two field goals in the fourth quarter and Gabby Williams, who missed her first four shots, closed with 26 points and the free throws that put the Valkyries ahead for good. Atlanta's 10-game winning streak is over, and the Dream fall to 0-10 all time in Finals games. Game 2 is Monday at 7:00 p.m. CT at Chase Center.
Star of the Night: Gabby Williams, Golden State Valkyries
26 points | 8-of-22 FG | 3-of-11 from three | 7-of-8 FT | 8 points off turnovers
Williams scored 38.2% of Golden State's points on a night when her teammates combined to shoot 17-of-56 (30.4%). Stokes's four blocks, Charles's 10 rebounds, and Gray's 19 points for Atlanta all made cases, but Williams carried the offense.
Dud of the Night: Tiffany Hayes, Golden State Valkyries
3 points | 1-of-12 FG | 8.3% field goal percentage | 1-of-5 from three | 4 assists | 6 rebounds
Hayes took 12 shots and made one, going 0-of-7 on two-pointers, and scored three points in a game decided by four, then left in the final minutes after a hard fall. The Valkyries won anyway, but her shooting was a big reason it stayed close. Howard's 3-of-14 and Gray's 5-of-19 for Atlanta were in the conversation, but Hayes's 1-of-12 was the starkest.
How We Did: Checking the Card
Saturday's card went 2-for-2: the side cleared and the total cleared.
Atlanta @ Golden State: The preview leaned Golden State -2.5 (Toss flip) with the under at 154.5 (Lean), with our number at Golden State by 3 and a total of 150. Golden State won by 4, covering by a point and a half, and the total came in at 132, 22.5 points under the number. The side lean cleared and the under lean cleared. Our number was within a point of the margin, but a total of 150 was still 18 points too high for a game that finished at 132.
The headline takeaway: both leans cleared, the under by a wide margin, and our series call of Golden State in 6 is off to the start it needed. The toss up on the side landed on the right team by four.
Playoff Predictions Record
Tracking every graded card against the spread and total from the preview articles, updated through October 17:
Spread / Side: 12-5
Total (Over/Under): 9-8
Seventeen games graded so far across nine playoff preview articles. The side leans sit at 71%, while the totals sit at 53%. We'll keep this tally updated through the postseason.
Where the Finals Stand
WNBA Finals, best-of-seven: Golden State leads Atlanta 1-0. Golden State hosts Atlanta in Game 2 on Monday, October 19 at 7:00 p.m. CT. The series then moves to Atlanta, where Games 3 and 4 will be played at State Farm Arena: Game 3 on Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. CT, moved up a day because of a concert, and Game 4 on Saturday, October 24 at noon CT. If needed, Game 5 is Monday, October 26 in Golden State and Game 7 is Saturday, October 31 in Golden State. Game 6 is listed for Thursday, October 29 in Atlanta, but the arrangements for it have not been announced. Games 5 through 7 are at 7:00 p.m. CT.