Gabby Williams Scores 30 as the Valkyries Win the First WNBA Finals Game 7 and a Title in Their Second Season

By The Arena Staff

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 31, 2026 — Gabby Williams went into halftime of the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history with two points. She left Chase Center as Finals MVP and a champion.

Williams scored 28 of her 30 points after the break, and the Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday night to win the championship. Golden State did it in just its second season. Atlanta came up short in its fourth try at a title.

Yahoo Sports reported that Williams' 28 second-half points set a Finals record. She was 1 of 4 from the field in the first half, then scored her team's final 11 points of the third quarter, according to the Associated Press, turning a 30-24 halftime deficit into a 45-44 lead going into the fourth.

The Valkyries had opened with an 8-0 run and kept Atlanta off the scoreboard for nearly six minutes, but the Dream answered. Jordin Canada attacked the rim all night and had 13 points by halftime, and Atlanta outscored Golden State 18-10 in the second quarter.

The fourth quarter went back and forth. Rhyne Howard's layup tied it at 57 with 2:41 left, and Williams answered with a 3-pointer that sent the sellout crowd into a roar. She added two free throws with 1:40 to go, and Kiah Stokes scored a late basket to push the lead to seven.

Atlanta would not go quietly. Allisha Gray hit a 3 with 36 seconds left and made two free throws with 11 seconds to go to cut it to three. The Dream then forced a jump ball between Gray and Williams, but Veronica Burton came up with it and made two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to finish it.

Williams finished with 30 points, three rebounds, two assists, four blocks and two steals, with one turnover. She came in averaging a team-high 17.8 points in the series after signing with Golden State from the Seattle Storm, a move Yahoo Sports called franchise-altering. Stokes had 13 rebounds and two blocks.

Canada led Atlanta with 18 points. Gray scored 16, and Angel Reese had eight points and 12 rebounds. The Dream had forced the deciding game with an 80-69 win in Game 6 on Thursday.

When the buzzer sounded on a Halloween night the AP said had turned "Ballhalla" into "Boohalla," the violet-clad crowd went into a frenzy as confetti fell. The Bay Area now has a WNBA title to go with the Warriors' 2022 championship.

Sources: AP via the Los Angeles Times, Yahoo Sports and Sporting News.