ATLANTA — Golden State Valkyries All-Star forward Gabby Williams couldn't help but crack a smile when she recalled a text message former UConn head coach Geno Auriemma recently sent her. She wasn't the only one.
As Auriemma prepares for his 42nd season at the helm of the UConn women's basketball program, four players that won national championships under his tutelage — Williams, Tiffany Hayes, Kiah Stokes and Kaitlyn Chen — are helping the Valkyries reach new heights in their second year of existence.
"We always joke around what messages (associate head coach Chris Dailey) and Coach (Auriemma) send us after the game, because they talk to us like we're still 19," Williams said. "He becomes like a father figure to us."
Auriemma sent the quartet good
luck messages ahead of 2026 WNBA Finals, which continues with Game 5 on Monday, Oct. 26, after the Valkyries leveled the best-of-seven series against the Atlanta Dream at two game apiece. That shouldn't come as a surprise, Auriemma said.
"Every kid that spent that time here has certain qualities that make you win and make you win championships," said Auriemma, whose 12 national titles at UConn are second to none. "I don't think I'd be overstating it that if those four were not on that team, they wouldn't be where they are today."
Williams, Stokes, Hayes and Chen are all cut from the same championship cloth; fortified by mental toughness and discipline Auriemma instilled in them across different eras. It's the same level of intensity Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase expects from her team after cultivating a never satisfied mindset rooted in effort.
After an uninspired and uncharacteristic performance in back-to-back losses in Game 2 and Game 3, the Valkyries were able to empty the tank and recapture their defensive identity.
“Finally they decided to fight, so it was really good that they showed up," Nakase said during the Valkyries' 67-62 Game 4 win over the Dream. "They’re playing their hearts out, and that’s what I love."
we've got four alums competing for a championship 🏆
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) October 17, 2026
good luck to Gabby Williams, Tiffany Hayes, Kiah Stokes and Kaitlyn Chen in the WNBA Finals! pic.twitter.com/crWLvH3vRW
Gabby Williams' leadership on full display
Williams said the Valkyries "were very soft" in their Game 3 loss, a candid admission that one could easily confuse as words from her former UConn coach. But the brutal honestly with herself and her team helped set the tone for Golden State's get-right game on Saturday.
"I didn't like who I was in that last game," Williams added. "... If I want to lead my team... I have to lead by example as well. So I think that motivated me to set the tempo today, start off the game with a lot of aggressiveness. And before the game I just talked to the team about just not having regrets and that the beauty of our sport is as bad as we felt on Wednesday (in Game 3), we get to turn around and make it right up today."
Williams is no stranger to pressure and performing on a big stage. She won back-to-back national championships at UConn in 2015 and 2016, in addition to two EuroLeague championships in 2022 and 2026. She also led the French national team to a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics and 2026 Women's World Cup, but Williams hasn't achieved the same type of success in the WNBA yet.
Auriemma predicts that'll change, calling Williams "the best story in all of the WNBA" as far as her impact on both sides of the ball. Look no further than Saturday's win, where Williams led the Valkyries with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and two of Golden State's eight steals.
"I thought her defense was on an elite level. I mean, she's one of the top defenders in the world for a reason," Nakase said. "That's our identity. Keeping a team like Atlanta to 62 (points), that's who we are. And so we watch (Williams), we follow her, and whenever she has to give her emotions, that's okay too. So it's good that she could be that fiery, but then also just lead by example."
Kiah Stokes is a 'coach's dream'
Williams is the first to pass on the credit to the Valkyries' impenetrable center Kiah Stokes, who contained a red-hot Angel Reese to eight points in Game 4 and ended Reese's streak of three consecutive WNBA Finals double-doubles. Stokes finished with four points, a playoff-career high 16 rebounds (eight offensive rebounds) and three blocks to become the first player in WNBA Finals history to record four straight games with three or more blocks.
Auriemma called Stokes, a three-time NCAA champion (2013–2015) and three-time WNBA champion (2022, 2023, 2025), a "coach's dream." Nakase couldn't agree more, describing Stokes as a consistent force that flies under the radar because she doesn't like attention, even though she deserves it.
“Another great story that's not talked about by anybody is the impact that Kiah Stokes has had on winning in her whole career,” Auriemma said. “Who wouldn't want to coach a kid that says, ‘Don't throw me the ball. Just let me play 27 minutes, let me block four shots, get 10 rebounds, get a couple steals and just shut down the other team's best player. That's all I want to do.’ ... And she's been able to carve out an amazing career doing that.”
Kiah Stokes in first four games of the Finals:
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) October 24, 2026
11.3 RPG
3.5 BPG
Set the WNBA record for most total blocks in a Finals series with 14. pic.twitter.com/eHTZHA0mxK
Tiffany Hayes and Stokes have a long history. The two played together in UConn during the 2011-12 season, before teaming up in Las Vegas in 2024 (after Hayes came out of retirement) and again in Golden State this season.
Hayes said Stokes has the same demeanor as she did when they first shared the court more than a decade ago.
"(Stokes) was quiet, but she was a real force," recalled Hayes, a two-time NCAA champion (2009, 2010). "She's a winner and it started maybe even before UConn... just the way that she is as a player. She gives whatever we need her to give."
Tiffany Hayes, Kaitlyn Chen key to Valkyries' run
Auriemma described Hayes as "outgoing and boom, boom, boom all the time," and like her personality, she's been a reliable spark plug off the bench for Golden State. Hayes and Kaila Charles slid into the starting lineup on Saturday in place of Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini for the first time this postseason. Hayes was limited to 13 points in 25 minutes due to foul trouble, but reached double-digits for the third straight game.
"We just had to have more fight, more grit, get back to us. We still made a few mistakes, but at the end of the day, we played hard and we came out with the win," Hayes said after Game 4. "Instead of 110%, you gotta give 120%. We all fighting, battling. But at the end of the day, we’re here for each other and we do it for each other, so I think we showed that today."
Kaitlyn Chen is only two years removed from her 2025 national championship at UConn. She admits she hasn't had time to fully process her whirlwind run to the WNBA Finals — "I will reflect more when the season's over" — but the similarities of both teams and both systems is not lost of her.
"I feel like I've always been lucky to be blessed to play for coaches that believe in me, and I feel like here's no different," said Chen, who is averaging 5.1 points in 11 minutes off the bench this postseason. "From the minute I showed up, they've always believed in me and I knew that, and that support has really helped me."
The Valkyries are two games away from their first national championship in franchise history, same as the Dream. If the Valkyries want to become the quickest expansion team to win a title, they'll have to continue to be aggressive on both sides of the ball and amp up the physicality.
Auriemma will likely be tuned in as Husky DNA will be on full display: “I’m really proud of all of them."
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Geno Auriemma’s UConn influence is powering Valkyries’ title run
