WNBA Recap & Results | October 26, 2026
Golden State is one win from its first championship, and Kiah Stokes is the reason. The Valkyries beat Atlanta 64-55 at Chase Center, holding the Dream to 29.2% shooting and turning 17 Atlanta turnovers into 21 points, and now lead the Finals 3-2 with Game 6 Thursday in Atlanta. Stokes had 13 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, and three threes, and Angel Reese, the engine of Atlanta's two wins, finished with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting. It was an ugly, defensive game by design. Atlanta scored 55, its lowest total of the Finals, and the two teams combined for just 47 points in the first half. Here's how it went down, the card graded, and where the series stands.
Stokes Takes Over, Valkyries Move One Win From a Title
Atlanta Dream 55, Golden State Valkyries 64
Nobody was going to mistake the first half for a shootout. Atlanta led 14-13 after the first quarter, and Golden State won the second 12-8 to take a 25-22 lead into the break, a combined 47 points that was reportedly the lowest-scoring first half in Finals history. The points that did come arrived with some flair on Golden State's side, with Gabby Williams spinning out of a crowd to feed Stokes for a layup and then hitting a tough fadeaway through a foul on the next trip. Williams, who finished 3-of-14, had her moment early.
Then Stokes took over. In the third quarter she made two threes and blocked two shots, and an early 7-0 run made it 32-24. The Valkyries won the quarter 21-18 to carry a 46-40 lead into the fourth, and Atlanta, which never led by more than one all night, was chasing for good.
The fourth quarter was Golden State's cushion and Atlanta's comeback attempt in the same ten minutes. The Valkyries stretched the lead to 16 with 1:47 to play, the Dream cut it to nine by the end, and it ended 64-55. Atlanta turned it over 17 times, shot 29.2%, and went 6-of-26 from three, while a Golden State defense that blocked nine shots and made nine steals did the rest. Final: 64-55, Golden State leads the series 3-2.
Reese was the story, and not in the way Atlanta needed. She had seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, but 15 rebounds and five assists, a line that says how hard she worked and how little she got to the rim. Rhyne Howard led the Dream with 20 points on 7-of-15, and everyone else on the roster shot a combined 12-of-50, 24.0%. Jordin Canada had 12 on 5-of-16, Allisha Gray had 10 with three turnovers, Isobel Borlase went 0-of-6, and Naz Hillmon had 11 rebounds, five of them offensive, but two points.
Stokes was the headliner with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, but this was a team win. Veronica Burton had 13 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks, Cecilia Zandalasini had 12 points and seven off turnovers, and Tiffany Hayes added 12 on 4-of-4 at the line. Williams was 3-of-14 but made her mark elsewhere, with six rebounds and three steals. Stokes now has 17 blocks in five games. Atlanta is now 2-12 all time in Finals games and needs two straight wins, with Game 7 in San Francisco, to finally get its first title.
GSV 64 · ATL 55
GSV One Win Away.
Golden State is one win from its first championship, in its second season. Kiah Stokes had 13 points, three threes, and three blocks, giving her 17 blocks in five games, and the Valkyries turned 17 Atlanta turnovers into 21 points. Angel Reese had seven points and 15 rebounds. Game 6 is Thursday at 11:30 a.m. CT in Atlanta.
Star of the Night: Kiah Stokes, Golden State Valkyries
13 points | 5-of-6 FG | 3-of-4 from three | 8 rebounds | 3 blocks | 108.3% TS
Stokes made two threes in the third quarter and blocked two shots as Golden State pulled away, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and three blocks. Burton's 13 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks and Howard's 20 for Atlanta both made cases, but Stokes did the most on both ends.
Dud of the Night: Gabby Williams, Golden State Valkyries
9 points | 3-of-14 FG | 21.4% field goal percentage | 3 steals | 6 rebounds | 28.6% TS
Williams took 14 shots and made three, and she is 15-of-53 (28.3%) over the last three games after going 5-of-18 and 7-of-21 in Games 3 and 4. She still contributed, with three steals and six rebounds, but the offense that leans on her has been scraping for points. Gray's 4-of-12 with three turnovers and Borlase's 0-of-6 were in the conversation.
How We Did: Checking the Card
Monday's card went 2-for-2: the side cleared and the total cleared.
Atlanta @ Golden State: The preview leaned Golden State -1.5 (Toss-up) with the under at 149.5 (Toss-up), with our number at a Golden State win by 3 and a total of 149. Golden State won by 9, so the side lean cleared by 7.5 points. The total came in at 119, 30.5 points under the number, so the under lean cleared. Our number had the right team and the right direction on the total, but a game where Atlanta scored 55 finished 30 points below it.
The headline takeaway: both Toss-up leans cleared on the right side of a defensive slugfest, and our series call of Golden State in 6 is on pace. It needs a win in Game 6 in Atlanta.
Playoff Predictions Record
Tracking every graded card against the spread and total from the preview articles, updated through October 26:
Spread / Side: 14-7
Total (Over/Under): 11-10
Twenty-one games graded so far across thirteen playoff preview articles. The side leans sit at 67%, while the totals sit at 52%. See every lean, graded, at The Record.
Where the Finals Stand
WNBA Finals, best-of-seven: Golden State leads Atlanta 3-2. Atlanta hosts Golden State in Game 6 on Thursday, October 29 at 11:30 a.m. CT, with the Valkyries one win from the first championship in franchise history. If Atlanta wins, Game 7 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.