WNBA Finals: Gabby Williams leads Valkyries to nervy Game 1 win over Dream

Williams scored 26 points as the Golden State Valkyries came back to take the lead at home against the Atlanta Dream.Gabby Williams scored a game-high 26 points, including four key free throws in the final 78 seconds as the Golden State Valkyries held off the Atlanta Dream 68-64 in game one of the WNBA Finals.Williams, runner-up to Atlanta’s Angel Reese in Defensive Player of the Year voting, has emerged as an offensive force for the Valkyries in the playoffs and carried the scoring load on a tough shooting night for the hosts, who did not have another player score in double figures on Saturday.Reese blocks the shot from Williams during the game [Noah Graham/Getty Images via AFP]The French star took some time to warm up, going scoreless in the first quarter as the Valkyries got off to a tentative start in front of a raucous crowd at Chase Center.“Once we all started having fun and the excitement got out, we started to kind of find our way,” Williams, who erupted for 16 points in the second quarter, said in an on-court interview.“There was a lid on that basket tonight, but that’s why we rely on our defence,” she said.Golden State trailed by one with 1 minute and 18 seconds remaining when Williams seized the rebound off a miss by Atlanta’s Allisha Gray and was fouled by Reese.Williams made both free throws to put the Valkyries up 65-64 and added another pair of free throws to seal the win with 4.1 seconds left.“It came down to getting stops and that’s been our bread-and-butter all ‌year,” noted Williams, whose team has allowed 335 fewer points than any other in the WNBA this season. “That’s why we harp on it so much, because we’ve built such great defensive habits.”