The WNBA semifinals are underway with the final four teams vying for a title.
The Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty, who have won the last two championships, and the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries, who are looking for their first, started their quest on Sunday, Oct. 4.
The winning experience didn't seem to make much difference in Game 1 of the best-of-five series.
The No. 4 seed Atlanta Dream beat the No. 8 seed New York Liberty, 92-82, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The No. 2 seeded Valkyries beat the Aces, 71-60, at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Gabby Williams led the charge with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Here are the winners and losers of the WNBA semifinals:
Winners
The Dream's defensive clinic against the Liberty
After being down 40-37 at halftime, the Atlanta Dream put together
one of the wildest quarters of basketball in these playoffs. Atlanta outscored New York 32-15 and produced nine turnovers (nearly all were steals), scoring 16 points off the giveaways. The Dream's 16 points off turnovers in the frame tied a playoff record in any quarter, since the WNBA moved to quarters in 2006.) Atlanta had 14 total steals, from six different players and scored 32 points off turnovers, tying a WNBA playoff record as well.
"We knew we didn't play our best in the first half. We knew we gave up a lot of defensive assignments. We weren't playing to our schemes, and we just weren't being aggressive enough," Dream guard Jordin Canada said. "We came out (in the third quarter) ready to go. I thought it started defensively with our energy. We were able to get stops and then get out in transition, which is what we do best. From there, we kind of were able to just kind of separate a little bit and finish off in the second half.
Valkyries All-Star Gabby Williams
Gabby Williams scored a career-high 36 points in Game 2 of the Valkyries’ first-round series against the Dallas Wings and continues to rachet up her level of performance.
In Sunday’s win over the Aces, she became the 10th player in WNBA history to record at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a postseason game.
A French-American from Sparks, Nevada, Williams she spent her springs and summers in the Bay Area with extended family living in Oakland and Alameda as she played competitive youth basketball nearby.
“Growing up here and knowing what this community is about — seeing it at this level means everything,” Williams said. “It just feels like a big party. And I'm just enjoying it, honestly, taking advantage of this energy, and this magic that we have in this arena.”
The Valkyries bench
This isn't a novel storyline for the Valkyries this season. Golden State had the highest scoring bench in the WNBA, averaging 35.9 points a game. Janelle Salaün was named Sixth Player of the Year on Sunday in celebration of her leadership of the group.
The Valkyries had 27 points off the bench against the Aces, led by Kaitlyn Chen's 11. That was compared to seven bench points from the Aces.
With Las Vegas injured, NaLyssa Smith, Stephanie Talbot and Dana Evans were already out and Jewell Loyd was injured on Sunday, Golden State's depth could be a big factor in this series.
Losers
Dream guard Allisha Gray's hand injury
On Sunday, Allisha Gray exited Game 1 of the Liberty and Dreams series holding her left wrist and hand area during the first quarter. She went to the locker room for several minutes before checking back in during the second quarter with two fingers (ring and pinky) taped together on her left hand. Gray soon removed the tape and kept playing. Just before halftime, the Dream guard was diving for a loose basketball when she appeared to injure the same hand again. Gray sat on the court, cradling her hand/fingers before going back to the locker room for a second time.
She did not return to the matchup. Instead, veteran DeWanna Bonner stepped in for Gray and started the second half, playing multiple positions to help the team adjust. Bonner was masterful with 23 points off the bench and nine rebounds. However, if Gray's injury is long-term, it could get dicey for the Dream. Before Sunday, Gray was averaging 22 points on 47% shooting, 2 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game during the playoffs.
"We know that (Allisha Gray) is a big piece to our team. She brings a lot to our team … but you know, it's a next-man-up mentality that we have," Dream guard Jordin Canada said. "We told her that we had her back, and whoever comes off the bench or one of the starters, we gotta bring it for her."
Aces bench ... again
It’s not the Aces’ bench players that are losers, but the Aces’ bench that’s a loser, literally – because the team keeps losing players.
The team was already without NaLyssa Smith, Stephanie Talbot and Dana Evans entering the game. The rotation got even thinner when Jewell Loyd exited the game on Sunday. The veteran guard sustained a leg injury in the first couple minutes of the second halfand did not return. Kierstan Bell got more minutes in Loyd’s absence, finishing with 3 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks in 21 minutes on Sunday.
Aces coach Becky Hammon didn’t have an update on Loyd’s status in her postgame news conference.
Aces’ rebounding
Hammon, frustrated following the loss, took the most issue with the team’s rebounding. The Valkyries outrebounded the Aces 52-25 and 17-2 on the offensive boards.
The Aces coach said she could end the entire news conference after discussing rebounding because that was the entire issue.
“It’s a good news, bad news thing” Hammon said. ”Good news is we played like (expletive) and lost by 10.”
In a much more upbeat postgame news conference, Valkyries forward Gabby Williams pointed to former Aces center Kiah Stokes as the “secret” to the Valkyries winning the rebounding battle.
Stokes had 14 rebounds. She has the second most playoff games in WNBA or NBA history with no points and at least 10 rebounds. Only Dennis Rodman has more.
Liberty's ball security
The New York Liberty held a 3-point lead at halftime of their semifinal opener against the Atlanta Dream. It all fell apart in the third quarter when the Dream picked up their defensive intensity.
The Liberty gave up 21 turnovers that led to 32 Dream points. Sabrina Ionescu had five turnovers only one assist. Leonie Fiebich had four turnovers.
Atlanta had 14 steals with Jordin Canada leading the charge with five. Angel Reese added four steals and four blocks.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA playoff winners and losers include Valkyries' Gabby Williams, Liberty turnovers
