Williams finishes a sixteen-point comeback as Valkyries reach the semifinals

Gabby Williams put Golden State ahead with a seventeen-foot jumper, then needed another possession to protect the lead. Her recovery of her own missed shot survived a replay review with 13.1 seconds left Friday night, helping the Valkyries finish a 77–73 win over Dallas and reach the WNBA semifinals.[2]

Golden State had trailed by sixteen in the third quarter of the deciding game. Its reward for recovering is the first playoff-series victory in franchise history and a meeting with the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, beginning Sunday at Chase Center. Williams scored seventeen of her nineteen points after halftime.[1]

The Valkyries entered the postseason with the league’s best defense and highest-scoring bench. Both were central to their rise from an eighth seed in their inaugural season to second this year. Friday required them to recover those strengths while Dallas threatened to end a 32-win season on Golden State’s own floor.[7]

The noise in the building became useful, Williams explained afterward: “it forced us to talk louder and communicate more.” Her account, reported by USA TODAY, gave a practical explanation for the home atmosphere. Louder communication brought more energy as the Valkyries tried to organize the stops their comeback required.[6]

Burton ends the drought

For much of the first half, Tiffany Hayes supplied Golden State’s most reliable route to points. She attacked the basket, drew contact and scored thirteen before the break. Her second-quarter burst included a right-wing three and a scoop layup through a foul, temporarily giving the Valkyries an offensive foothold.[1]

Dallas kept answering. Paige Bueckers tied the game at 33 with a midrange basket, and the Wings finished the half ahead 44–37. Bueckers was struggling to make shots, but Dallas was still finding enough offense around her to take control. The lead reached 53–37 before Golden State finally scored again.[4]

Veronica Burton broke the drought with a three-pointer at 5:38 of the third quarter. The San Francisco Standard reported that Golden State had not scored since a Hayes free throw with 2:18 left in the first half. Burton’s shot gave the Valkyries a starting point after nearly seven scoreless minutes.[5]

The recovery gathered force when defensive pressure began producing chances at the other end. Williams hit from outside, Burton drove into the paint, and Kiah Stokes supplied a tip-in. Kaila Charles intercepted an inbound pass and drew a foul. Those different contributions gradually reduced Dallas’ room for error.[3]

Golden State’s renewed pressure mattered because its earlier defensive changes had not contained Arike Ogunbowale. The Chronicle reported that the Valkyries moved in and out of a zone while Dallas extended its lead. Late in the third quarter, forcing misses and creating offense from them finally made that pressure productive.[3]

The Valkyries entered the fourth trailing 59–54. Burton’s layup brought them within two, and Charles’ corner three tied the game at 65 with 6:51 remaining. A Stokes block then helped create a transition finish for Burton. Golden State had worked all the way back into the lead.[1]

Ogunbowale makes Golden State answer again

Ogunbowale had already kept Dallas alive with a playoff-record 45 points in Wednesday’s overtime win. On Friday she scored thirty, including an off-balance jumper with 3:13 remaining that restored a five-point lead. Even after surrendering its large advantage, Dallas had put the game back within reach.[2]

Golden State needed more than improved shooting to finish the job. USA TODAY reported that the Valkyries scored ten second-chance points in the final quarter and allowed only three. Reclaiming missed shots gave them additional opportunities during a period in which neither side could afford empty possessions.[6]

Burton finished with sixteen points, ten rebounds and six assists, while Stokes collected thirteen rebounds. Hayes’ eighteen points helped Golden State’s reserves outscore Dallas’ 31–8. Their work kept the comeback from depending entirely on Williams finding her shot late.[1]

Williams supplied the decisive jumper with 1:17 left. The replay review later preserved Golden State’s one-point lead and possession after the ball had initially been awarded to Dallas. Williams made four late free throws. Bueckers finished with seventeen points and six assists, making all ten free throws but only three of fourteen field-goal attempts.[2]

The closing minutes also brought concern for Golden State coach Natalie Nakase, who briefly went down near the sideline and was helped back toward the bench. She remained involved in the game. The team subsequently told ESPN she was fine; assistant Kasib Powell said afterward that she was expected to coach Sunday.[8]

Dallas’ improvement survives a painful finish

Dallas coach Jose Fernandez resisted allowing Bueckers’ difficult shooting night to define her season. “We only get to this point because of Paige,” he said in USA TODAY’s postgame account. He described the responsibility she takes for results, while Ogunbowale credited her with carrying Dallas through the season.[6]

The Wings had improved from ten victories in 2025 to 27 this year, the largest single-season increase in league history. Their winning percentage was the franchise’s best since its 2008 championship in Detroit. Jessica Shepard’s career year alongside Bueckers helped turn that improvement into a return to the playoffs.[7]

The way this series unfolded made the exit especially difficult. Golden State had beaten Dallas in all three regular-season meetings and won the opener 104–80. The Wings then forced a deciding game and built a substantial second-half lead in it. Their season ended much closer to the semifinals than that opening defeat suggested.[4]

Golden State now faces an opponent it did not beat during the regular season. The Standard reported that Las Vegas won all three meetings, although the teams last played in late June. The Valkyries have had three months to develop since then; home-court advantage gives them the first two semifinal games in San Francisco.[5]

The Aces bring A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd, but are without forward NaLyssa Smith following a season-ending leg injury. Las Vegas closed the regular season with seven consecutive wins. Golden State’s next assignment begins Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern, with another series available to a team that spent much of Friday facing elimination.[7][6]