SAN FRANCISCO: The Valkyries found themselves in a deep hole in the third quarter. The Wings were on a 20-0 run and had stretched their lead out to 16. But, after coach Natalie Nakase took a timeout with the Valks down 53-37, it seemed like a switch flipped.
Then, one of the most remarkable comebacks in WNBA history took place.
They kept chipping away one possession at a time. Gabby Williams led the comeback and the Valkyries with 19 points. Williams scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half. Williams outscored the Wings by herself in the final two minutes of the game 8-1.
Big shot Gabby showed up.
“Big shot Gabby,” Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes said. “She’s our dog, she’s our leader, and she’s the one we go to, and she showed you exactly why. We’ll do it again and again, and over and over. … That’s Gabby f—ing Williams.”
The turning point occurred when Veronica Burton made a beautiful rainbow three-pointer out of the timeout, while the team was down 16, which ended the Valkyries’ scoring drought and halted the Wings’ 20-0 run.
“Once we all saw that go in, we all said, ‘OK, we saw one go in and now it’s our time to get going,’” Williams said. “It was all about getting stops from there.”
The Valkyries would go on a 14-4 run to end the third quarter after that point, cutting the Wings lead down to five heading into the final period. Golden State went on to dominate the fourth quarter, outscoring the Wings 23-14.
Williams’ 17-foot pull-up jumper gave the Valkyries a 73-72 lead in the final minutes, and with some crucial defensive stops and her clutch four free throws down the stretch, she secured the victory and sealed the deal for Golden State.
Williams said her desire to be trusted in big moments with the ball in her hands is the reason she came to Golden State this offseason.
“I wanted someone to believe in me in the league,” Williams said. “I never quite got that belief in the W from a staff or teammates. … The fact they trust me to have the ball in my hands—it’s not even about making the right shot, just making the right decisions. I’m able to do that because we have four people that can go off on the floor.”
The Valkyries also withstood another incredible performance by Arike Ogunbowale, who had 30 points after her 45-point performance in Game 2.
Veronica Burton finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The first double-double in Valkyries’ postseason history. Tiffany Hayes was also clutch off the bench with 18 points.
Valkyrie’s coach, Natalie Nakase, briefly collapsed to the floor late in the fourth quarter but would finish the game on the bench. A scary moment.
After being helped up by her assistant coaches and grabbing her forehead, she returned to the Valkyries’ huddle and drew up the play that led to Gabby Williams’ go-ahead shot that put the Valkyries up 73-72 with 1:17 left.
Assistant coach Kasib Powell would address the media after the game, filling in for Nakase.
“Throughout the whole game, we didn’t panic,” said assistant coach Kasib Powell, “Losing Game 2, we knew it was going to be a tough game, so we just wanted to execute on both ends of the floor.”
“We knew what we needed to do to execute, so it was no need to panic. But we knew it was going to be a hard journey to get over the hump and beat them. So we’re just happy that we executed and stayed calm.”
“She didn’t miss a beat,” Powell said. “I mean, we were locked in as that happened. When she went to the sideline, she drew the next play up. She was in the huddle, getting on them about getting a stop. So we didn’t skip a beat at all. We tried to keep our composure and just rally around each other and her.”
The Valkyries now have a second round date with the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces. Game 1 is Sunday afternoon at Chase Center.
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