Gabby Williams scored her team's final 11 points of the third quarter and dazzled through the fourth on the way to 30 points as the Golden State Valkyries captured the WNBA championship in just their second season.
The Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 to claim a sensational first WNBA Finals Game 7 on Saturday night as Williams scored 28 of her 30 points in the final 20 minutes.
The 30-year-old star won a championship in college, but had fallen just short while playing for France in the Olympics and FIBA World Cup, losing to the US for the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games by a point and in the women's FIBA World Cup this September.
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Now in her first chance on the WNBA's biggest stage, Williams wouldn't let the opportunity slip away.
"I just walked into a group full of love," Williams said. "And that just changed the entire trajectory of my career."
"Gabby is our closer she stayed patient, she stayed with it," coach Natalie Nakase said. "Closing with 30, that is incredible!"
Williams joined Penny Taylor in 2007 for Phoenix as the only players in WNBA history to score 30 or more points in a winner-take-all Finals game.
Jordin Canada scored 18 points, Allisha Gray 16 and Angel Reese landed eight points and 12 rebounds for the Dream, who were denied another championship at their fourth attempt.
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With her team trailing by six points at the half, Williams got going in the third quarter, hitting shots from all over the court.
After scoring just two points in the first half, she had 15 points in the third quarter to give the Valkyries a 45-44 advantage heading into the final period.
The game was tied at 53 when Williams scored nine straight points for the Valkyries, including a deep 3-pointer that made it 60-57 with 2:18 left. It was a lead the team wouldn't relinquish.
She didn't just perform on the offensive end. Williams, who was runner-up for the league's Defensive Player of the Year, had four blocks, setting the tone early.
"It's incredible. She's a humble superstar. She's the reason we're here. At halftime she was like 'I just got to get going,'" Veronica Burton said of Williams. "Once she got going there was no stopping her. She hit shot after shot and got stop after stop. She gets it done on both sides of the floor."
When the final buzzer sounded, the violet-clad sell-out crowd at Chase Center went into a frenzy as players sprinted onto the floor to hug and celebrate as confetti fell from the rafters.
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Source: Sports
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