The Golden State Valkyries advanced to the WNBA Finals in their second season, sweeping the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in overtime on Friday at Michelob Ultra Arena. They will face the Atlanta Dream in the championship series.
How did the Valkyries secure the sweep in Las Vegas?
Golden State completed the semifinals sweep by outscoring Las Vegas 16-6 in the extra period. The key earlier in regulation was a massive 17-0 run in the third quarter that limited the Aces to just seven points in the period. Kayla Thornton scored 18 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, Gabby Williams added 16 points—including eight in overtime—and former Aces players Kiah Stokes and Tiffany Hayes each contributed 11 points, with Stokes also grabbing 10 rebounds. The Valkyries defense recorded 12 steals in the victory. The Valkyries grabbed a 53-47 advantage during their third-quarter surge, and Veronica Burton later gave Golden State a 71-69 lead with a 9-foot floater with 1:12 remaining. In overtime, Gabby Williams extended the lead by draining a jump shot from just beyond the free-throw line to make it 81-73 with 54.2 seconds left.
How did the defending champions respond down the stretch?
The third-seeded Aces, who had won three of the past four championships, fought back from a deficit after trailing by six points late in the game. Newly awarded five-time MVP A’ja Wilson scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, though she shot 6-of-19 from the field. Jackie Young added 18 points and Chelsea Gray finished with 17. Gray delivered a pass to Young for a wide-open layup under the basket with 26.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to tie the game 71-71 and force overtime. Chelsea Gray scored her first points of the second half in overtime by making a driving layup to bring her team within two points at 75-73.
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When and where do the WNBA Finals begin?
The second-seeded Valkyries will hold home-court advantage and host the No. 4 Atlanta Dream in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
More on Las Vegas Aces
https://x.com/WNBA/status/2108775892126171393
https://x.com/WNBA/status/2108774743138521123
https://x.com/valkyries/status/2108773456225649129
