Valkyries use stifling defense to move within 1 win of WNBA title

To be left open behind the 3-point arc in the defensive struggle that dominated Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Monday night, a player was going to need some rather subpar credentials.

Like, say, a 4-for-21 mark on 3-point attempts in the playoffs over the previous 12 years.

Fortunately for the Golden State Valkyries, they had just such a player.

Kiah Stokes hit three 3-pointers to go with a dominant defensive effort, Gabby Williams sparked a fourth-quarter run with a three-point play, and the Valkyries took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Finals with a 64-55 victory over the Atlanta Dream in San Francisco.

The 2025 expansion team will have an opportunity to secure its first championship when Game 6 is played Thursday afternoon in Atlanta.

In a contest that featured the lowest-scoring first half in WNBA postseason history (25-22) and threatened all-time lows for total points by one team and both teams in a Finals game, the Valkyries led just 46-42 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter before gradually pulling away.

Williams ignited a 16-4 run when she turned a drive to the basket into a three-point play, giving Golden State a seven-point lead with 9:08 remaining.

Stokes, a three-time champion who had gone 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the first four games of the championship series, then delivered the dagger with her third 3-pointer of the game, pushing the lead to 10 points at the 7:21 mark.

It wasn't her idea to take even one 23-footer on a night when she finished 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, Stokes told reporters afterward.

"I was just shooting it, to be honest," the 6-foot-3 center said, "(because) Coach (Natalie Nakase) cussed me out when I passed up one, so I didn't want to make her mad again."

The Dream, who shot 29.2% overall and 23.1% (6-for-26) from 3-point range, got no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

"We just didn't get as many good looks, especially in transition, as we want," Dream coach Karl Smesko told reporters after the game. "And when we did work to get open shots, we shot a really low percentage.

"We've got better shooters than that. Give Golden State credit; they're a great defensive team. But we're going to have to execute better and knock down shots when we get them."

Stokes finished with a personal postseason-best 13 points in 2026 to go with eight rebounds, three blocks and suffocating defense on Dream star Angel Reese, who was held to seven points on 2-for-8 shooting. By extending her streak to six consecutive games with at least three blocks, Stokes matched the WNBA postseason record set by Lisa Leslie in 2003.

Veronica Burton matched Stokes for the team scoring lead with 13 points, while Tiffany Hayes and Cecilia Zandalasini chipped in 12 apiece and Williams had nine.

Burton, who played 37 of the 40 minutes, also grabbed eight rebounds and recorded four blocks for Golden State, which won despite shooting 39.3% overall and 25% (6-for-24) from 3-point range. Her block total matched Diana Taurasi's mark from 2009 for the WNBA Finals single-game record by a guard.

"It's all we got right now. I mean, this is it. I will play however many minutes," Burton said when asked if she'd gotten tired. "This is the WNBA Finals. Leave it all out there."

Rhyne Howard led all scorers with 20 points for Atlanta, which, like Golden State, has never won a WNBA title. Jordin Canada had 12 points and Allisha Gray added 10 for the Dream, while Reese grabbed 15 rebounds and Naz Hillmon pulled down 11.

Atlanta's 55 points were just eight more than the WNBA Finals record for fewest points by one team, set by the New York Liberty in a 59-47 loss to the Houston Comets in Game 3 of the 1999 Finals.

Smesko wasted no time turning the page.

"Defensively, we're playing very well," he said. "We just have to put a good offensive game together in this next game and then we'll be in a position to do what we're intending to do. Nothing's changed. We win two games, we're champions."

Burton and Stokes left the arena with a message for Valkyries fans, who will have to tune in to Game 6 at 9:30 a.m. Thursday on the West Coast.

"Call in sick; I recommend it," Burton said, after which Stokes added, "Y'all know how to fake a cough; we all do it."

--Field Level Media/Reuters