Golden State Valkyries Tie WNBA Finals At 2-2 With Game 4 Win

The Golden State Valkyries stole a 67-62 road win over the Atlanta Dream to even the WNBA Finals series at 2-2, shifting home-court advantage as the series heads back to the Bay Area for game five.

The Valkyries were led by the three-headed monster of Gabby Williams (17 points), and 13 points a piece by Veronica Burton and Tiffany Hayes. Additionally, off the bench Cecilia Zandalsini contributed 10 points.

Further, Kiah Stokes recorded a career-high 16 rebounds, but her biggest impact came on the defensive end. She helped limit Angel Reese to just eight points after the Atlanta Dream star posted 30- and 21-point performances in Games 2 and 3, respectively.

Stokes said of her role and responsibility guarding Reese, “She has been the head of their snake all series. For me, it was trying to make every look she had at the basket difficult. It is a tough job, but I think being our best defensive big, I have to own up to that challenge.”

Golden State Valkyries Lean On Defense To Even WNBA Finals At 2-2

The Golden State Valkyries stifled the WNBA’s fourth-most efficient offense, holding the Atlanta Dream to just 62 points, nearly 30 points below their season average of 91.3 points per game.

Specifically, the defensive intensity of the Valkyries caused the Dream to turn the ball over 17 times, and generated eight steals. Further, the Dream were held to 33% shooting from the field, and 17% from beyond the arc.

The Valkyries also had 38 points in the paint compared to Atlanta’s 28 points, and seven fast break points compared to just two points from the Dream. This might be one of the most important details of the game, as Atlanta typically likes to move through a quick, transition based, down hill offense.

After the game, Valkyries center Stokes spoke about the importance of their defensive pressure and fight, “Atlanta is definitely not going to give us anything, so we had to take it. We are definitely enjoying this win, but nothing was won or lost here in Atlanta, so we definitely have to take care of home court.” She continued, “As far as turnovers, that has been our bread and butter all season, we were kind of out of character game two and three so getting back on track.”

Williams also attributed their defensive adjustments to the win in game four, “I am sorry if I sound redundant but we kept our ball pressure, I think that we were a bit more connected today and that gives us our energy.”

Golden State Valkyries Tie WNBA Finals, Karl Smesko React To Atlanta’s Game 4 Loss

Despite the loss, Atlanta battled back from a 16-point first-half deficit, repeatedly cutting Golden State’s lead to six points or fewer in the second half. The Dream outscored the Valkyries 19-12 in the third quarter and 17-13 in the fourth, with forward Rhyne Howard leading the comeback effort.

Howard scored 11 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter, but Atlanta ultimately came up short.

In the presser after the game Dream head coach Karl Smesko stated, “Give them credit, they came out super aggressive, they were crashing the boards, they were being very aggressive on defense and we just needed to take care of the ball better, get some better shots early.”

He elaborated, “I am really happy with the fight we showed in the second half, but we can’t put ourselves in that position where you are playing a defensive team and you are having to come back from double figures.”

The WNBA Finals will move to game five on Monday, October 26 back in Balhalla at 7pm EST on USA Network, CNBC, and streaming on Peacock.

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This article was originally published on Forbes.com