WNBA Finals Game 7: Golden State Beats Atlanta 68-63 to Win First Championship, Gabby Williams Scores 30 and Takes MVP

SAN FRANCISCO - Golden State's second season ended with a trophy. The Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday night at Chase Center to win Game 7 of the WNBA Finals - the first Game 7 in Finals history - and the first championship in franchise history.

For a half, Atlanta had it. Golden State opened 8-0 while the Dream missed their first 10 field-goal attempts, but Atlanta recovered to lead by six at halftime and by as many as nine. Then Gabby Williams took the game over: after scoring two points in the first half, she scored 15 in the third quarter to pull Golden State ahead 45-44, and 13 more in the fourth.

The finish was hers, too. With the game tied at 53, Williams scored nine straight points, including a deep 3-pointer that made it 60-57 with 2:18 left. She finished with 30 points on 10-of-23 shooting and four blocks, was named Finals MVP, and her 28 second-half points set a WNBA Finals record for points in a half. Tiffany Hayes scored 11, Kiah Stokes added eight points, 13 rebounds and two blocks, and Veronica Burton had 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Jordin Canada led Atlanta with 18 points and Allisha Gray added 16.

Golden State joined the WNBA as an expansion team in 2025 and, per CNN, is now the fastest expansion franchise in major North American sports to win a championship - in year two, on Halloween night, in front of a costume-clad home crowd that had renamed its building Boohalla for the occasion.