Gabby Williams scores 19 as
Valkyries rally from 16 down to beat Wings 77-73, reach WNBA semifinals
[October 03, 2026]
By JANIE McCAULEY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gabby Williams scored 19 points and hit a
go-ahead 17-footer with 1:17 remaining, and the Golden State
Valkyries won a late replay review to finish a rally from 16 points
down and beat the Dallas Wings 77-73 on Friday night in a wild
deciding Game 3 of their first-round WNBA playoff series.
With 13.1 seconds left and Golden State leading by one, Williams
jumped back inbounds to corral her own miss on a play that was
originally ruled Dallas' ball, but Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase —
who moments earlier had fallen to her knees on the sideline before
being helped up — successfully challenged the call. Nakase walked
off the court escorted by a member of her staff after the final
buzzer, holding her face as the team celebrated at midcourt.
The team said afterward she was fine and expected to coach Sunday in
Game 1 but assistant coach Kasib Powell addressed the media in a
postgame news conference where she typically speaks.
The Valkyries will be back at rocking Ballhalla for the series
opener with the team’s deafening, violet-crazed home crowd at Chase
Center.
Arike Ogunbowale knocked down an off-balance jumper with 3:13 to
play that put Dallas up by five and finished with 30 points to
follow up a 45-point performance in the Wings' overtime win
Wednesday night at home.
Williams scored all but two of her points after halftime. Veronica
Burton had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Burton’s layup
with 8:19 to play pulled the Valkyries within 61-59, Williams hit
two 3-pointers late in the third and they both willed Golden State
into the best-of-five semifinals against the defending WNBA champion
Las Vegas Aces.
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Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) drives for a layup
against the Dallas Wings during the first quarter of Game 3 of a
WNBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in
San Francisco. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Tiffany Hayes scored 18 points off the bench, Kaila
Charles hit a tying 3-pointer with 6:51 left and Kiah Stokes pulled
down 13 rebounds.
The second-seeded Valkyries won a playoff series for the first time.
Last year, they became the first expansion team to reach the
playoffs in its inaugural season.
Paige Bueckers had 17 points with six assists but shot only 3 for 14
for Dallas, making all 10 of her free throws.
The Valkyries missed three straight 3s and nine shots in a row
overall to start the third quarter as Dallas used a 9-0 run to take
its largest lead at 53-37. Golden State pulled within 59-54 heading
into the final 10 minutes.
Ogunbowale was 11 for 21 after scoring a playoff-record 45 points in
the Wings' 108-100 overtime win Wednesday night.
That prompted Nakase to declare before the game: “We made a promise
to ourselves we are going to play the best four quarters of our
lives.”
She said the Valkyries didn't recognize themselves that game — even
though the team had scored 100 or more points in the first two
matchups, including 104-80 in the series opener last Sunday.
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