Kiah Stokes Makes Finals History as Valkyries Even Series With Dream at 2-2

Kiah Stokes has been the anchor of Golden State’s defense all series, and in Game 4 she turned that into a place in the WNBA record books. The Valkyries leaned on a suffocating first half and Stokes’ defense to tie the Finals at 2-2, flipping the momentum after a Game 3 loss.

Stokes finished with a playoff career-high 16 rebounds, eight of them offensive, along with at least three blocks, and she is now the all-time WNBA leader in blocks in a Finals series with 13. She is also the first player to record three or more blocks in four consecutive Finals games, and her seventh such game this postseason is the most in a single postseason in league history. Her 26 blocks this postseason are the fourth most in a single postseason, behind only Lisa Leslie (31 in 2001 and 28 in 2003) and A’ja Wilson (30 in 2025). She also set franchise playoff records for rebounds and offensive rebounds in a game, and her eight offensive boards tied for the second most in a Finals game in WNBA history.

Stokes shrugged off the milestone. “I just hang my head on defense. I like to block shots,” she said. “I’m trying to be the last on defense for a team that allows my guards to put pressure a little more. So I know they have confidence that I have their back.”

That pressure showed up early. Golden State used a 12-0 run in the first quarter to take a 16-11 lead, then stretched it with a 22-7 run in the second to lead 42-26 at the half, its biggest lead of the series. Atlanta committed 14 turnovers in the first half, tying the Finals record for turnovers in any half, and scored just 26 points. Only one other team has scored fewer than 30 points while turning it over 14 times in a half in Finals history, and that team was the Dream.

Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 17 points, one of five Golden State players in double figures, and Veronica Burton dished out a team-high five assists. Williams said her approach changed after the Game 3 loss. “I didn’t like who I was in that last game. If I want to lead my team, I have to be the one that sets the tone, and I have to lead by example.”

Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase said she saw it. “She didn’t just have to do it with her voice. She can do it by example. I thought her defense was on an elite, elite level. She’s one of the top defenders in the world for a reason.” Nakase also pointed to the team’s identity: “Keeping a team like Atlanta to 62. That’s who we are.”

That 62 is the Dream’s lowest-scoring game of the season, and all three of their lowest-scoring games have come against Golden State (62 today, 64 in Game 1 and 66 on June 24). The Valkyries also took care of the ball, committing nine turnovers and allowing only eight points off them, while Atlanta’s 18 turnovers led to 16 Golden State points. Golden State won the paint 38-28.

Atlanta did not go quietly. The Dream opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run, cutting a 16-point deficit to single digits and eventually getting within five. Rhyne Howard led all scorers with 19 points and added eight rebounds. Nneka Ogwumike’s former teammate DeWanna Bonner moved into 12th on the WNBA playoff list for offensive rebounds, and Angel Reese tied her playoff career high with three blocks while grabbing nine rebounds, matching Naz Hillmon for the team high. Jordin Canada led Atlanta with four assists.

Reese took ownership of her night afterward. “I think I rushed a lot of my shots, and I didn’t take my time and finish around the basket like I’ve been doing in the last three games,” she said. Asked what makes Stokes a difficult matchup, she said, “She’s been guarding me the whole playoffs, the whole Finals, so it wasn’t anything different. I just felt like I was messing my shots.”

Atlanta was also 22-for-31 at the free throw line, which Reese pointed to. “We make all our free throws, we win the game.” Howard said the Dream simply weren’t ready for Golden State’s start. “They just came out aggressive, and we didn’t come out ready to match that.”

The series has been a grind for both teams. Golden State is shooting 34.3 percent from the field, the second-lowest mark in Finals history, while Atlanta is at 37.8 percent, the sixth lowest, and teams have shot under 37 percent in seven of eight possible instances. Nakase said the key to a long series is simple. “As boring as it sounds, it’s just staying healthy. Rest and recovery, because you need to be healthy.”

Game 5 tips off at 5:00 p.m. PT on Monday, Oct. 26 at Chase Center in San Francisco. Whoever wins will have a chance to clinch the championship in Game 6 in Atlanta on Oct. 29