The Golden State Valkyries kept their season alive on Friday night in dramatic fashion, beating the Dallas Wings 77-73 following a stunning second-half comeback. With the win, the Valkyries won the best-of-three series 2-1, and notched the first series victory in the two-year history of the franchise.
From the start, the game was a defensive slugfest. The team’s traded tough defensive possessions in the opening minutes, and it wasn’t until Arike Ogunbowale — the star of Dallas’ impressive equalizing
win on Wednesday — made an and-one more than two minutes into the game that either team scored. It was a tremendous defensive effort by the Valkyries in the early going, but they simply could not find the bottom of the bucket, and trailed 6-4 halfway through the opening frame.
There’s only so long that a dam can hold, and the Wings broke through first, using a 7-0 run to take an early 11-4 lead and grab the moment at the Chase Center. It wasn’t until Tiffany Hayes came in off the bench that Golden State started to find any rhythm at all on offense. With Hayes repeatedly attacking the rim, the Valkyries were able to finally put points on the board. But even so, it was a relatively futile showing: the combination of Dallas’ strong defense and Golden State’s cold jumpers led to a season-low scoring output for any Valkyries quarter this season, and they trailed 19-14 after the opening frame.
It looked like they had new life to start the second, when Kaila Charles knocked in a three on the first possession. But that momentum quickly swerved the other way. Dallas’ offense was starting to take shape, while Golden State’s was stuck treading water, and soon the Wings had a nine-point advantage.
Then came a huge moment that briefly turned the tide: Cecilia Zandalasini rose for a three and missed, and while it initially looked like a clean play, the refs blew the whistle. After a lengthy review, they determined that Odyssey Sims’ contest of the shot was not only a foul, but a Flagrant 1. The flagrant didn’t end up hurting Dallas, as the Valkyries were unable to score on their extra possession following Zandalasini’s three free throws, which she made. But whether it was a flagrant foul igniting something in the Valks, or the extended break for the replay giving them time to compose themselves, Golden State came to life. The Valkyries tore through a 10-2 run to pull within a point, before Ogunbowale — the queen of the big shot — drained a three to stabilize things for Dallas. Finally, with 3:47 left in the half, Hayes was fouled while laying the ball in and complete a three-point play. It gave Golden State their first lead of the night, at 33-31.
It was a very short-lived lead. Golden State continued to execute well down the stretch of the first half, but simply could not buy a bucket. Dallas, meanwhile, led by the dynamic duo of Ogunbowale and Paige Bueckers, found their footing once more, and ended the half on a tear. The Wings used an 11-0 run to close out the second quarter, and went to the lockers with a 44-37 lead, and all the momentum.
The hope for Golden State was that the halftime break would allow their shots to recalibrate. Instead, the opposite proved to be the case. The Valkyries seemingly couldn’t make a basket to save their soul to open the third quarter, and you could start to sense the desperation both from the team and the packed arena.
After holding Dallas scoreless for a while, the Valkyries finally bent, and the Wings started scoring, and scoring, and scoring, and scoring. A brutal sequence in which Bueckers drained a deep three, Dallas got a stop, and Ogunbowale made a bucket of the highest difficulty finally forced Natalie Nakase to call a timeout.
But the damage was officially done. Going back to the end of the second quarter, the Wings had scored 20 unanswered points, and the Valkyries had missed 15 consecutive shots. It’s hard to overcome a 20-0 run in a 40-minute game, and the Wings had built up a 16-point lead in the third quarter. Ballhalla was as quiet as it’s ever been.
Meanwhile, Nakase had made the bold decision to bench her star player, Gabby Williams, less than three minutes into the second half. Williams had been struggling uncharacteristically, and starting to press, and Nakase fearlessly gave her best player a lengthy rest to reset, even with the season teetering on the brink.
It payed off.
The Valkyries finally broke through at the 5:38 mark, when Veronica Burton drained a step-back three to beat the shot clock buzzer, giving Golden State their first points of the quarter. From there, the comeback was on, but it certainly wasn’t easy.
Golden State got back to their second quarter ways, with strong execution and ice cold jumpers. They tried to fix that by getting to the hoop, but the rim protection of the 6’6 Awak Kuier — who officially had three blocks, but disrupted at least a dozen shots in the paint — left them frustrated time and time again.
But the Valkyries had started to show out on defense, and it was only a matter of time before the offense caught up. With three minutes left in the third, and still trailing by 13 points, Nakase brought Williams back into the game. The rest had done wonders. Golden State immediately got a stop, and on her first offensive possession back on the court, Williams — who had just two points — drained a three to cut the lead to 10. That was part of a 7-0 Valkyries run that fully shifted the momentum of the game. You could see the frustration on the face of every Wings player, while the confidence for the Valkyries was equally palpable. Golden State was attacking relentlessly on both sides of the court, and Ballhalla was roaring.
As the quarter came to a close, the Valkyries looked to end things on a high note. Dallas had the ball for a two-for-one, and Golden State got an initial stop, which led to another Williams three that cut the lead to three points. It appeared as though they had a final stop as well, but a potential Jessica Shepard travel went uncalled, leading to a layup that gave Dallas a 59-54 lead. Golden State was losing, but they had all the momentum as we went to the final quarter.
Dallas held strong to start the fourth quarter, and kept the lead in the two-to-three possession range for a few plays. Golden State had their first big sequence of the frame when Ogunbowale was called for an offensive foul, and Burton pulled off a slick eurostep on the other end, pulling the Valkyries to within two points less than two minutes into the quarter.
At the 7:18 mark, Williams drained yet another three, pulling Golden State to within one point. With 6:51 remaining, Charles sunk a triple that tied the game, and sent the sold out crowd into a frenzy.
With the game spinning out of control for Dallas, Ogunbowale went into hero ball mode, and sometimes that works out (as it certainly did on Wednesday) and sometimes it doesn’t. It wasn’t immediately working for the Wings, but unfortunately, they — and Ogunbowale — had bigger problems to contest with, as she limped off the court at the 6:20 mark, seemingly nursing a groin injury.
It was clear that the intensity of the moment was making itself known to both teams, as suddenly the game got more physical and more dramatic. Even through the TV, you could cut the tension at the Chase Center with a knife.
Thankfully for basketball fans everywhere, after briefly heading down the tunnel, Ogunbowale returned to the game. Moments later, Kiah Stokes blocked a midrange jumper by Shepard, grabbed the rebound, and found Burton for a transition layup. With just under five minutes remaining, Golden State took a 67-65 lead — their first advantage since the second quarter.
Dallas used a timeout, and when they emerged from it, Ogunbowale was once again in hero ball mode, only this time she looked just like her Wednesday self, when she scored a WNBA playoff record 45 points (that was the first time all season the Valkyries had allowed a 30-point performance; tonight was the second time).
She made a deep go-ahead three with 4:33 left, then drew a foul at the 3:58 mark and sank both free throws. With 3:13 left, she made a running floater, capping a 7-0 run all by herself. Dallas led 72-67, and suddenly Valhalla was very nervous once again as Nakase called another timeout.
The Valkyries turned the ball over on their first possession out of the timeout, and it looked like the game was going to slip away from them. But after a stop and a Stokes missed layup, Charles grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball back in, pulling the Valkyries to within three points.
From there, Golden State’s league-leading defense locked in like their season depended on it — perhaps because it did. They forced Ogunbowale into an off-balance deep two, which she missed, and it led to a Williams transition layup. With 1:40 remaining, the Valks trailed by just one point, and Dallas needed a timeout to regroup.
Then the scariest moment of the game transpired. As the teams went to break, Nakase was pleading her case over a non-call with a ref, when she appeared to collapse. The reigning Coach of the Year was keeled over on the court for a few moments as the refs and assistant coaches tried to see if she was okay. Finally she stood up, looking fairly pale and dazed, but somehow made her way to the bench to draw up a play. After the timeout, Nakase could be seen sheepishly laughing with a ref, and mouthing “I’m okay.” She did not talk to reporters after the game, with assistant coach Kasib Powell fielding questions instead. Powell said that Nakase was getting checked by the doctors, but that she was okay and in good spirits, and is expected to coach Golden State’s next game.
After that brief scare, the Valkyries got back to closing out the game. Out of the timeout they forced Shepard into a contested mid-range jumper, which she missed, while Williams — fully taking over now — drained a mid-range on the other end to give Golden State a one-point lead with 1:18 remaining.
The next possession was an especially impressive defensive one, as they forced Dallas to use nearly the entire shot clock before Bueckers threw up a prayer, and even after the Wings got the offensive rebound the Valkyries held strong, forcing Ogunbowale into a very difficult miss.
Golden State got the ball back with 37 seconds left, nursing a one-point lead. They opted not to go for a two-for-one, instead choosing to work the clock and get the best look possible. As the shot clock wound down, Williams went to work with an array of moves, breaking down the defense and getting to the rim.
But once again she was met by Kuier, who forced Golden State’s All-Star into a missed layup, which in turn led to the biggest sequence of the game. Williams’ momentum from driving to the rim had carried her out of bounds, and Golden State frantically tried to keep the possession alive. As they did so, the ball ricocheted in Williams direction. From a few feet behind the basket, she attempted to leap back onto the court to establish herself before grabbing the ball.
The refs felt she hadn’t, and called her out of bounds, giving the ball back to Dallas with 13.1 seconds remaining, and a chance to win the game. But Williams was adamant that she’d made it back into play, and Nakase challenged the call. It was one of the more unique challenges you’ll ever see, and, once it was correctly reversed, one of the most outstanding hustle plays imaginable. Instead of needing to play defense to protect the lead, the Valkyries were now awarded the ball, with the lead, and the shot clock off.
After Dallas used their foul to give, they ceded a foul to Williams with 9.6 seconds remaining, and she calmly made both, pushing the lead to three. With that, one question was on the minds of all 18,000 people in the arena: would the Valkyries foul?
Nakase had elected not to foul when up three late in Wednesday’s game, and Ogunbowale had made a heroic, borderdline unbelievable three to tie the game and send it to overtime, where the Wings would prevail. Would Nakase change her tactics with that memory so fresh?
Yes. The Wings inbounded the ball to Alysha Clark, who is just a 65.4% free throw shooter this year. The Valkyries quickly fouled her with 7.7 seconds remaining, and the decision looked even smarter when Clark missed the first free throw. She made the second to cut the Golden State lead to two points, but they easily inbounded the ball to Williams, who was fouled with 6.9 seconds remaining.
She needed to make just one free throw to return the lead to three points.
Swish.
She needed to make the second free throw to ice the game.
Swish.
And with that, the game was over. Bueckers missed a desperation three that wouldn’t have mattered anyway, and the Valkyries won 77-73.
Despite her slow start, Williams led the team with 19 points, while Hayes had 18. Hayes’ scoring, aggression, and defensive intensity were game changers, and gave her a game-high plus/minus of +15. Burton was sensational, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, while Stokes had 13 rebounds, three blocks, and endless little winning plays.
Ogunbowale led Dallas with 30 points, while Bueckers had 17 but shot just 3-for-14 from the field (albeit while getting to the line 10 times and making all 10).
The Valkyries only get one day off before beginning the semifinals on Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces. That best-of-five series kicks off at 1:00 p.m. PT on NBC. Golden State has home court advantage in the series, and will host Games 1, 2, and 5 (if necessary). It will be quite a test for the Valkyries, who lost all three contests against the Aces this year, though they all came in the first half of the season.
