WNBA Recap & Results | October 31, 2026
The Golden State Valkyries are WNBA champions in their second season, and Gabby Williams made sure of it. In the first Game 7 in WNBA history, the Valkyries beat Atlanta 68-63 at Chase Center, with Williams scoring 28 of her 30 points in the second half, a WNBA Finals record, and earning Finals MVP. Atlanta led by six at the half and by as many as nine in the third quarter, then ran into a Golden State defense that blocked eight shots and a Williams run that took over the third quarter and decided the fourth. Atlanta, 3-13 all time in Finals games, is left with another heartbreak. Here's how it went down, the card graded, and the final word on the series.
Gabby Williams Takes Over, and Golden State Wins a Championship in Year Two
Atlanta Dream 63, Golden State Valkyries 68
The first half belonged to Atlanta, eventually. The Dream missed their first nine shots while Golden State opened with an 8-0 run, and Angel Reese's layup with 4:41 left in the first quarter finally got them going, with the Valkyries up just 14-12 after one. Then Atlanta took over, winning the second quarter 18-10 behind a 9-0 run and a Jordin Canada three with 56 seconds left that made it 30-22. Tiffany Hayes answered with a floater, and Atlanta went into the break up 30-24. Williams had just two points at the half.
Atlanta pushed it to nine, 37-28, on a DeWanna Bonner layup with 5:59 left in the third, and that is when Williams took over. She scored the Valkyries' final 11 points of the quarter, a 25-foot three off a Kaila Charles assist, a 27-footer off a Kayla Thornton assist, a corner three off a Kiah Stokes assist, and a 10-foot turnaround with 1:05 left that gave Golden State a 45-44 lead, its first since the opening quarter. Golden State won the third 21-14, Atlanta never led again, and Williams, who had two points at the half, already had 17.
Golden State led 51-46 after Williams's free throws with 7:44 left in the fourth, but Atlanta kept chipping, with an Isobel Borlase and-one and two Canada free throws, and Allisha Gray's fadeaway tied it at 53 with 5:14 to go. Neither team scored for the next 1:40. Then Williams broke it open, scoring nine consecutive Golden State points in just under two minutes: two free throws, a driving layup, a 31-foot three off a Veronica Burton assist that made it 60-57 with 2:18 left, and two more free throws with 1:40 to go for 62-57. Atlanta tied it at 55 and 57 in between, but never got the lead, and Stokes's tip-in with 53.8 seconds left made it 64-57.
Atlanta made the finish interesting. Gray's three with 34.2 seconds left cut it to 64-60, Golden State took a timeout, and Hayes made two free throws for 66-60. Reese made one of two at the line, then stole the ball from Williams with 15.8 seconds left, and Gray made two free throws after a Hayes foul to cut it to 66-63 with 10.5 seconds to go. Naz Hillmon's foul with 5.1 seconds left sent Burton, who had missed 10 of her 13 shots, to the line, and she made both for 68-63. Rhyne Howard's 29-foot three with 1.2 seconds left missed, and Golden State had its first championship. Final: 68-63, Golden State wins the series 4-3.
It was a grind by design. Golden State shot 37.5% and went 5-of-20 from three, Atlanta shot 33.3% and went 6-of-30, and the teams combined for 131 points, a total our number had at 133.2. Atlanta won the second-chance battle 18-9 and got 12 points off the bench to Golden State's five, but the Valkyries blocked eight shots, four of them by Williams, and made 15 of 16 free throws.
Williams was the story: 30 points on 10-of-23 shooting with four threes, a perfect 6-of-6 at the line, four blocks, and two steals. Kiah Stokes had eight points and 13 rebounds, Burton had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds despite shooting 3-of-13, and Tiffany Hayes added 11. For Atlanta, Jordin Canada led with 18 points, Allisha Gray had 16 on 5-of-16 shooting, and Angel Reese had eight points and 12 rebounds but turned it over four times. Rhyne Howard, who scored 21 in Game 6, went 3-of-14 for six points and missed all seven of her threes. Golden State beat Dallas 2-1, Las Vegas 3-0, and Atlanta 4-3 on its way to the title, and never lost a series. Atlanta, swept in 2010, 2011, and 2013, lost its fourth Finals and is 3-13 all time in Finals games.
GSV 68 · ATL 63
GSV Are Champions.
Gabby Williams scored 28 of her 30 points in the second half, a Finals record, including the Valkyries' final 11 of the third quarter, and Veronica Burton's two free throws with 5.1 seconds left sealed it after Atlanta had cut it to 66-63 with 10 seconds to go. Golden State won the title in its second season after beating Dallas 2-1, Las Vegas 3-0, and Atlanta 4-3. Atlanta fell to 3-13 all time in Finals games.
Star of the Night: Gabby Williams, Golden State Valkyries
30 points | 10-of-23 FG | 4-of-8 from three | 6-of-6 FT | 4 blocks | 2 steals | 58.5% TS
Williams spent the first half waiting and the second half deciding the championship, scoring 28 points after the break, 15 in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth, including the Valkyries' final 11 points of the third, nine consecutive Golden State points down the stretch, and the 31-foot three that made it 60-57 with 2:18 remaining, and she added four blocks. Stokes's 13 rebounds and Canada's 18 for Atlanta both made cases, but this was Williams's night and her Finals MVP award.
Dud of the Night: Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream
6 points | 3-of-14 FG | 21.4% field goal percentage | 0-of-7 from three | 3 steals | 3 turnovers | 21.4% TS
Howard, who scored 21 in Game 6, took 14 shots and made three, missed all seven of her threes, and was whistled for four fouls in the game Atlanta needed her most. Her three steals kept her in it defensively, and Hillmon's 1-of-5 and Zandalasini's 1-of-5 for Golden State were in the conversation, but Howard's night was the starkest.
How We Did: Checking the Card
Saturday's card went 1-for-2: the side missed and the total cleared.
Atlanta @ Golden State: The preview leaned Atlanta +1.5 (Lean) with the under at 142.5 (Strong), with our number at an Atlanta win by 3 and a total of 133.2. Golden State won by 5, so Atlanta finished 3.5 points short of covering and the side lean missed. The total came in at 131, 11.5 points under the number, so the Strong under lean cleared, and our number for the total was within 2.2 points of the final.
The headline takeaway: the Strong lean was the right one in a game that was decided by a record second half and not a shootout, while the side lean, which went against the home team, missed by 3.5. Our series call of Golden State in 6 had the right champion and the wrong length. See every lean, graded, at The Record.
The Final Word on the Series
WNBA Finals, final: Golden State defeats Atlanta 4-3. Game scores: Game 1, Golden State 68-64; Game 2, Atlanta 79-65; Game 3, Atlanta 97-71; Game 4, Golden State 67-62; Game 5, Golden State 64-55; Game 6, Atlanta 80-69; Game 7, Golden State 68-63. The Valkyries win the first championship in franchise history in their second season.
