COLLEGE PARK, GA ― Golden State Valkyries guard Gabby Williams says she had to show a "different kind of fire" with her team after the Valkyries dropped consecutive games in the WNBA Finals.
On Oct. 19, the Atlanta Dream evened the series with a 79-65 Game 2 victory. Then, in Game 3 on Oct. 21, the Dream outlasted the Valkyries with a 97-71 win. After Game 3, Williams, who is typically even keel, gave a passionate and animated speech to her teammates.
"I've been a little bit too loose as a leader, and that's kind of where, especially coach (Natalie Nakase) has been pushing me. I think I've kind of been a little bit too much of 'It's alright. We'll figure it out. We're good. We're good. We're good,'" Williams said Friday ahead of Saturday's Game 4 at State Farm Arena (1 p.m. ET, NBC).
"I just wanted to show my team something different because we need something different. These are two games that just haven't been us. So I had to get out of my comfort zone and try to remotivate the troops I guess. That's what that speech was about."
After falling down 2-1 in the series, the Valkyries said they won't panic.
Williams said Friday the message in the locker room following the team's Game 3 loss was "show more fight" and "get that fire back in our bellies." She said she wants to see the Golden State she's seen all year.
The Valkyries finished the 2026 regular season with a 32-12 record, the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and the best defense in the WNBA (101.4) rating. When the postseason began, Golden State outlasted Dallas in the first round with a 2-1 series win and leaned on its defense against Las Vegas, churning out a resounding 3-0 sweep of the defending champions to get to the Finals. Before Oct. 21, the Valkyries hadn't lost consecutive games since Aug. 19 against Minnesota (77-66) and Aug. 21 against Chicago (73-70).
"It is a long series. So I think we're still very positive. We know what we can fix. (A) lot of it is dealing with ourselves. So we just gotta look in the mirror first and then move forward," Golden State center Kiah Stokes said Thursday during Finals availability.
"This is a long series. Positivity and energy is still high, and we got another chance to steal one on Saturday, and then the series has evened up. And then, it's best of three."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gabby Williams explains emotional team speech after WNBA Finals losses