Gabby Williams thrives in these environments: high-pressure situations in which her back is against the wall and she has no other option but to play her best basketball
In Game 3 against the Dallas Wings, Williams did just that, fueling the Golden State Valkyries’ 16-point comeback to beat the Wings 77-73 and secure a spot in the WNBA semifinals. The Valkyries, who earned their first playoff series win in the franchise’s second season, will face the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces, with the best-of-five series starting at Ballhalla on Sunday afternoon.
Friday night’s comeback was the fifth-largest in a winner-take-all game in WNBA playoff history and the largest since the Aces’ 16-point comeback against the Sun in Game 5 of the 2020 semifinals.
Williams scored 17 of her 19 points
Williams scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter, when she outscored the Wings 8-1 in the final two minutes of the game.
“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.”
Williams, whose clutch performance followed her career-high 36-point night in Game 2, said her desire to be trusted in big moments was why she came to Golden State in the off-season.
I wanted someone to believe in me
“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.”
Williams helped carry the Valkyries with her late-game performance, but it took a furious comeback for them to even be in the position to win.
The Wings ended the first half and opened the third quarter on fire, going on a 20-0 run that spanned the two quarters. Dallas led by as many as 16 points midway through the third period.
The Valkyries stayed poised
But the Valkyries stayed poised. The turning point, Williams said, was when Veronica Burton hit a 26-foot rainbow 3-pointer over the Wings’ Paige Bueckers to finally end the Valkyries’ scoring drought.
“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 responded by going on a 14-4 run over the final 4:54 of the third, chopping away at the lead and trailing by only five to start the final quarter. Golden State went on to outscore Dallas 23-14 in the fourth.
Burton finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds
Burton finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the first double-double in Valkyries postseason history, and Hayes scored 18 points off the bench.
With 1:40 left in the fourth, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase briefly collapsed on the court while speaking to an official. She slowly got up and was helped to the bench, where she was given water. Nakase did not leave the court and finished coaching the game.
Team officials told ESPN that Nakase collapsed after experiencing exhaustion and lightheadedness. She did not speak to reporters after the game, but assistant coach Kasib Powell said Nakase was doing OK and should be available to coach Game 1 of the semifinals.
“We saw her afterwards and she was fine — laughing and in good spirits,” Powell said. “We’ll figure out more as we go, but I think she is totally fine. She’s talking, she’s laughing, so we look forward to preparing and getting ready for Sunday.”
Source: www.espn.com
