Gabby Williams’ 30 Points Sink Angel Reese’s Dream, 68-63, in WNBA Finals Game 7

The Atlanta Dream led at halftime and were one win from their first championship, but WNBA Finals Game 7 ended in a 68-63 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday night at Chase Center. The Valkyries took the title in only their second season as a franchise, winning the series 4-3.

Williams Turns a Quiet Half Into a Finals MVP Night

Gabby Williams had just two points at halftime, with Atlanta up six. She finished with 30, 28 of them in the second half, and was named Finals MVP. Her third quarter alone produced 15 points and a 45-44 Valkyries lead going into the fourth. Sky Sports noted she scored her team’s final 11 points of the period. She also blocked four shots, and teammate Veronica Burton said Williams told them at the break that she “just got to get going.”

The decisive blow came late. Atlanta had pulled level at 57-57 with less than three minutes left, helped by baskets from Allisha Gray and Jordin Canada. With 2:18 remaining, Williams hit a 31-foot three-pointer to make it 60-57, and Golden State never trailed again. Williams joined Penny Taylor, who did it in 2007 for Phoenix, as the only players in WNBA history to score 30 or more in a winner-take-all Finals game.

The win also ends a run of near misses for the 30-year-old. She lost the 2024 Olympic gold-medal game to the United States by a point while playing for France, and fell to the U.S. again at the FIBA World Cup in September. “I just walked into a group full of love,” she said afterward. Coach Natalie Nakase called her “our closer.”

Atlanta Let a First-Half Edge Slip Away

For two quarters, the Dream looked like the team that would win. They held Golden State scoreless for more than five minutes in the second quarter, and Canada scored 13 of her 18 points in that period alone. Gray added 16. But Atlanta could not contain Williams on the perimeter once she found her rhythm, and the Dream spent most of the second half chasing the game.

Reese’s Struggles Shadow the Dream’s Season-Ending Loss

Angel Reese finished with eight points on 3-for-7 shooting, 12 rebounds and four turnovers. OutKick reported that she did not attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter. Her only point of the period was a free throw with 18.6 seconds left. The numbers over the last four games of the series were rough: 12-for-45 from the field (26.7%) and 19 turnovers. Game 7 was her fourth straight game with more turnovers than made baskets.

Reese’s postgame message, per an OutKick headline, was “We’ll be back.” Atlanta’s roster showed enough to back that up, but the series suggested the Dream still need more late-game answers, especially when the offense stalls. In the first half of Game 7 it went nearly six minutes without scoring before Reese ended the drought with a layup.

Off-Court Questions Linger in Atlanta

The Dream’s season came with logistical problems that predate the Finals. Most home games were played at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, which seats about 3,500 and is reportedly the league’s smallest venue. Before the series, ownership published an open letter saying its concerns “did not receive the attention, nor the urgency that they deserved,” a line that pointed toward Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s league office. Whether that framing holds up is debatable, since Golden State also dealt with venue issues last year yet sold out games.

Another storyline ran through the series. OutKick reported that both teams left the floor during the national anthem before all seven games, a pattern that continued before the finale.

On the floor, the night belonged to Golden State. The sell-out crowd at Chase Center erupted as confetti fell and players rushed the court. For the Valkyries, that was a title won in just their second year. For the Dream, it was another Finals defeat, this one after leading at the half.

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