Golden State defense stifles Atlanta as Valkyries move within 1 win of WNBA title

Kiah Stokes added three 3-pointers to a dominant defensive effort, Gabby Williams triggered a fourth-quarter run with a three-point play and the Golden State Valkyries grabbed a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals with a 64-55 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Monday in San Francisco.

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

In a contest that featured the lowest-scoring first half in WNBA postseason history and threatened all-time record lows for total points by one and both teams in Finals history, the Valkyries led just 46-42 in the first minute of the final period before gradually pulling away.

Williams ignited a 16-4 spree when she turned a drive to the hoop into a three-point play and a seven-point lead with 9:08 remaining.

Stokes, a three-time champion who had made a total of just four 3-pointers in her previous 54 playoff games, then delivered the dagger with her third perimeter hoop of the game, creating a 10-point difference at the 7:21 mark.

The Dream, who shot 29.2% overall and just 23.1% (6 of 26) on 3-point attempts for the game, got no closer…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business