WNBA Recap & Results | October 24, 2026
The Finals are tied 2-2, and Golden State got there by winning the game it had to win. The Valkyries beat Atlanta 67-62 at State Farm Arena, built a 16-point halftime lead on a 26-point second quarter, and held on as the Dream chipped away in the second half. Angel Reese, the engine of Atlanta's two wins, shot 2-of-12 with six turnovers, Kiah Stokes grabbed 16 rebounds, and the two teams combined to shoot 8-of-48 from three. The series is now effectively a best-of-three, with Game 5 Monday in San Francisco, Game 6 Thursday in Atlanta, and Game 7, if needed, Saturday back in San Francisco. Here's how it went down, the card graded, and where the series stands.
Valkyries Build a 16-Point Lead, Hold On, and Tie the Finals at 2-2
Golden State Valkyries 67, Atlanta Dream 62
Golden State answered the biggest question of the series early: could it score? Atlanta jumped out 7-2, but the Valkyries, who had managed just 65 and 71 points in the two losses, ripped off a 12-0 run, led 16-11 after one, and won the second quarter 26-15 to take a 42-26 lead into the break. It was the biggest lead Golden State has had in the Finals, and Atlanta never led by more than five.
Atlanta did not go quietly. The Dream outscored Golden State 19-12 in the third to cut it to 54-45 and won the fourth 17-13, getting to the free throw line 31 times and making 22. But a team that had scored 79 and 97 in the previous two games could not find shots: Atlanta shot 33.3%, went 4-of-23 from three, and committed 18 turnovers, which Golden State turned into 16 points to Atlanta's eight. The Dream kept coming, but a 16-point hole was too deep to climb out of. Final: 67-62, the series is tied 2-2.
Our preview's key stat was that Atlanta was 15-0 this season when Reese made a three-pointer. She took one, and missed it. Reese went 2-of-12 from the field with six turnovers and eight points, though she did pull down nine rebounds and block three shots. Rhyne Howard led the Dream with 19 points and eight rebounds, but after back-to-back games with five or more steals, she had none. Jordin Canada had 10 points and four assists, Isobel Borlase had 10, and Allisha Gray, 1-of-7 with five fouls, still got to the line four times and pulled down five rebounds.
Golden State won it on the glass and in the paint. The Valkyries scored 38 points inside to Atlanta's 28, grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, and ran seven fast-break points to the Dream's two. Stokes anchored it with 16 rebounds, eight of them offensive, and three blocks. Gabby Williams had a team-high 17 on 7-of-21 shooting, 0-of-6 from three, Tiffany Hayes had 13 on 5-of-10, Veronica Burton had 13 on 4-of-17 with five assists and three steals, and Cecilia Zandalasini added 10 with three steals and a game-best plus-20. Atlanta is now 2-11 all time in Finals games and still looking for its first championship.
GSV 67 · ATL 62
GSV Ties the Finals.
Atlanta was 15-0 this season when Angel Reese made a three. She missed her only attempt, shot 2-of-12, and Golden State's Kiah Stokes pulled down 16 rebounds as the Valkyries won 67-62 to tie the Finals at 2-2. Game 5 is Monday at 7:00 p.m. CT at Chase Center.
Star of the Night: Kiah Stokes, Golden State Valkyries
4 points | 2-of-5 FG | 16 rebounds | 8 offensive rebounds | 3 blocks
Stokes anchored a Golden State team that scored 38 in the paint, grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass, and blocking three shots. Zandalasini's plus-20 and Williams's 17 points both made cases, but no one changed the game on the glass the way Stokes did.
Dud of the Night: Angel Reese, Atlanta Dream
8 points | 2-of-12 FG | 16.7% field goal percentage | 6 turnovers | 9 rebounds | 3 blocks | 27.3% TS
Reese, the engine of Atlanta's two wins, missed 10 of her 12 shots and committed six turnovers, the most in the game, on the day the Dream needed a third straight win to take control. Gray's 1-of-7 was in the conversation, but Reese's six giveaways and her 2-of-12 made it the clearer dud.
How We Did: Checking the Card
Saturday's card went 0-for-2: the side missed and the total missed.
Golden State @ Atlanta: The preview leaned Atlanta -4.5 (Lean) with the over at 153.5 (Toss-up), with our number at an Atlanta win by 9 and a total of 155. Golden State won by 5, so Atlanta finished 9.5 points short of the number and the side lean missed. The total came in at 129, 24.5 points under the number, so the over lean missed.
The headline takeaway: both leans were wrong, and by wide margins, in a game where the two teams combined to shoot 8-of-48 from three and an Atlanta offense that had scored 79 and 97 in the last two games produced 62. The preview's key stat, Atlanta's 15-0 record when Reese makes a three, never mattered because she missed her only attempt. Our series call of Golden State in 6 is alive again, and it needs Game 5 at home and Game 6 in Atlanta.
Playoff Predictions Record
Tracking every graded card against the spread and total from the preview articles, updated through October 24:
Spread / Side: 13-7
Total (Over/Under): 10-10
Twenty games graded so far across twelve playoff preview articles. The side leans sit at 65%, while the totals sit at 50%. See every lean, graded, at The Record.
Where the Finals Stand
WNBA Finals, best-of-seven: tied 2-2. Golden State hosts Atlanta in Game 5 on Monday, October 26 at 7:00 p.m. CT. The series then returns to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. CT, and Game 7, if needed, is Saturday, October 31 at 7:00 p.m. CT in Golden State. Neither franchise has won a championship, so a first-time champion is guaranteed.