Don’t Call It a Boring WNBA Finals: How Gabby Williams, Valkyries Gutted Out Game 1 vs. Dream

It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win: The Valkyries took Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Dream on Saturday afternoon, successfully defending their home fort of Ballhalla. In the low-scoring 68–64 victory, Golden State relied on the clutch genes of Gabby Williams, who was the team’s only player to put up double-digit points. But the No. 2 seed also depended on something that’s carried it throughout the regular season and into the playoffs: A ruthless defense.

For an inkling of just how defensive-minded this series is going to be, Golden State and Atlanta combined to shoot just 32% (46-for-142) from the field, good for the second-worst field goal percentage in a game in WNBA Finals history.

Their shooting woes aside, how exactly did the Valks gut out the victory? Here are our takeaways.

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Golden State won the turnover battle

The Valkyries beat the Dream at their own game. Atlanta ranks as one of the most tenacious defenses in the league when it comes to steals and takeaways, but Karl Smesko’s squad didn’t take care of the ball as well as it has in the past.

In one of the more surprising stat lines of the contest, Golden State scored 17 points off Atlanta’s 12 turnovers. By contrast, Atlanta scored eight points off Golden State’s 10 turnovers. In a game that came down to the final possessions, and in a game in which neither team shot well from the field, those stolen points mattered a lot.

On top of that, the Valkyries snagged five more offensive rebounds than the Dream (12 compared to seven), which in turn generated extra possessions for Natalie Nakase’s side. Usually, the inimitable Angel Reese proves to be the difference-maker in this category—she recorded five of Atlanta’s seven rebounds—but Golden State’s Kiah Stokes and Kaila Charles, who finished with three offensive rebounds apiece, showed their dominance off the glass to give the Valks more valuable opportunities to score.

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The Dream suffered from poor shot selection down the stretch

Where was Reese’s offense in the second half? The reigning Defensive Player of the Year got off to a hot start in the first quarter, scoring 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting in eight minutes. Then, it seemed like she took a backseat to the Dream’s other shot-makers (a healthy Allisha Gray returned to the lineup in time for Game 1 after missing two games in the second round). Reese didn’t attempt a field goal in the final eight minutes of the game. Considering how much she’s improved her shot this postseason and how hot her hand was early in the contest, it was a bit puzzling as to why the Dream didn’t get her many good looks in the second half.

“I don’t think they really did anything,” Reese, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, said postgame when asked whether the Valkyries’ defense slowed her down in the second half. “Maybe that was just on me, I wasn’t aggressive enough with the ball, and trying to get the ball and get to my spot.”

With Reese less involved in the offense late in the game, the Dream put up pitiful shooting numbers. Atlanta went 2-for-20 from the field in the fourth quarter and 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. While it stands to reason that the Dream’s three-point percentages won’t be that bad moving forward, the team’s offense led by veterans Gray, Jordin Canada and Rhyne Howard sputtered in the clutch minutes of a Finals game. That can’t happen again, if the Dream are serious about winning their first-ever championship.

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Gabby Williams is the hero the Valkyries deserve

First off, a round of applause to the Valkyries’ bench players, who continue to outplay that of their opponents. Golden State’s bench put up 20 points and 22 rebounds, while Atlanta’s bench had just six points and three rebounds.

But the MVP of this game, and perhaps of the Finals series if the Valks go on to win it all, is Gabby Williams. The French star struggled in the first quarter but started to take over in the second with 16 points in a single quarter. She finished with a team-high 26 points (good for second-most in a playoff game in her career) on 8-of-22 shooting while adding four rebounds, two assists and one steal, with a team-best of +16 on the floor.

On a day when her teammates were off their shooting games, Williams delivered in front of her home crowd and didn’t shrink from the big moments—she sank all six of her free throws in the fourth quarter to help seal the Valkyries’ win.

“It feels like we’re not done yet,” Williams said in her postgame interview, when asked what it was like to hear the home fans chanting her name.

Williams did have a scary moment late in the fourth, when she was involved in an awkward collision with Atlanta’s Canada. After Williams sank a second free throw at the line, Canada went up to Williams as if to box her out and ran into her left leg from behind. Williams fell to the ground and looked like she was in pain, but no foul was called.

Wiliams was hobbling on one leg in visible discomfort after that incident but she was still able to close out the final minutes of the contest. Thankfully, the three-time All-Defensive forward appears to be O.K. and told reporters she wasn’t injured from that play.

Game after game, the looming question of the Valks’ postseason has been: Who will step up as the team’s leading scorer? Game 1 was Williams’s time to shine. Another hero could very well rise to the occasion in Game 2, which will take place at Chase Center on Monday night.