Valkyries Sweep Defending Champion Aces in Overtime, Advance to WNBA Finals

The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in overtime Friday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena, completing a three-game sweep of the defending champions and advancing to the WNBA Finals in the franchise’s second season.

Kayla Thornton led Golden State with 18 points on 5-12 shooting (42%) and went 6-7 (86%) at the free throw line while adding nine rebounds. Gabby Williams scored 16 points, eight of them in overtime, with three assists and three steals. Kiah Stokes made all five of her shots and finished with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds for her first career playoff double-double. Tiffany Hayes scored 11 off the bench to reach 500 career postseason points.

Las Vegas controlled the first half. The Aces scored the first five points of the game and led 19-16 after one quarter behind seven points from A’ja Wilson. Chelsea Gray then scored 13 points on 4-4 shooting in the second quarter, including a 3-pointer with 19.1 seconds left that sent Las Vegas into halftime ahead 45-36. The Aces shot 53.6% in the first half.

Two Wilson free throws pushed the lead to 47-36 early in the third quarter, the largest of the night. The Valkyries answered with a 17-0 run. Stokes started it with a layup, Thornton and Hayes each hit a 3-pointer, and Kaitlyn Chen’s driving layup gave Golden State its first lead at 48-47. Stokes capped the run with a 3-pointer for a 53-47 advantage.

The Aces went more than seven minutes without a point and made 2 of 16 shots in the period. Their seven points tied the fewest they have scored in any postseason quarter in team history and set a Valkyries franchise low for points allowed in a postseason quarter.

“Down 11, we just kept telling ourselves, nothing new,” Williams said. “To be a playoff team, to be in the final, sometimes you have to come back from a deficit.”

Jackie Young scored the final five points of the third to bring Las Vegas within 53-52, and the Aces rebuilt a 69-63 lead on a Wilson layup with 3:08 left in the fourth. Golden State responded again. Veronica Burton made two free throws, Stokes scored on a cut, and Williams stole the ball from Wilson and found Thornton for a fast-break layup that tied the game at 69. Burton’s floater put the Valkyries ahead 71-69 with 1:12 to play. Young tied it with a layup with 26.6 seconds left, and Gray’s 15-foot attempt at the buzzer missed.

“I’ve hit that shot 1000 times,” Gray said. “It just didn’t go my way.”

Golden State outscored Las Vegas 16-6 in overtime. Hayes scored twice on drives, and Williams added a layup, two free throws and an 18-foot step-back jumper that made it 81-73 with 54.7 seconds left. The Valkyries made all eight of their free throws in the extra period, four each from Williams and Thornton.

Williams had four points through three quarters and sat for most of the third.

“Sometimes the best thing to do is just get off it for a minute and then come back with a fresh mentality,” Williams said. “I tried to be loud on the bench and stay engaged in the game, and that brought my energy up as well and let me get going in the fourth.”

Stokes added three blocks, three assists and two steals, and eight of her 10 rebounds came on the defensive end.

“I could get emotional talking about it,” Williams said of Stokes. “Honestly, she’s just someone that… knows how to win.”

Golden State outrebounded Las Vegas 43-35 and held a 13-4 advantage in second-chance points. The Valkyries forced 15 turnovers and had 12 steals, led by three each from Williams and Cecilia Zandalasini. Burton finished with eight points, six rebounds and four assists.

Aces head coach Becky Hammon pointed to Thornton, who had four offensive rebounds.

“She’s relentless in that area and really came up big in all those games just by hitting the glass, getting her team extra possessions,” Hammon said.

Wilson led Las Vegas with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 6-19 shooting. Young scored 18, and Gray added 17 points and five assists. The Aces shot 25.8% after halftime.

“What I saw from us was the ball not moving… I saw a very stagnant offense,” Hammon said.

“Every year for us is championship or bust, so it’s a bust year for us,” Wilson said. “But at the same time, I’m never going to lose sight of what we’ve done to this league and how we continue to uplift it.”

Hammon also credited Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase and her team.

“Super happy for her. She had her club playing at a really high level all year,” Hammon said. “It just seems like nobody cares who gets the credit, and that’s a really special thing to have on a team, and I think Golden State has that.”

The Valkyries will face the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA Finals.