With just over 90 seconds left in Game 2 of the WNBA semifinal series between the No. 2-seed Golden State Valkyries and No. 3-seed Las Vegas Aces, the Aces, once down 17 points, took their first lead of the game, flexing their three-time champion experience and appearing poised to to even the series after a bucket from soon-to-be five-time MVP A’ja Wilson.
Order and expectation were to be restored. The champs are here.
Except, that Valkyries refuse to abide by such conventions.
A new era of the WNBA
may have arrived.
Gabby Williams issued an instant response, knotting the game at 76-76. After a missed triple from Chelsea Gray, Veronica Burton then delivered the blow, draining a deep 3 over a contest from Wilson to vault the Valkryies to the 79-76 lead.
The foul game then ensued, with Golden State escaping 83-81 as Kiah Stokes blocked Gray’s final attempt.
Up 2-0 on the defending champs, the second-year franchise is now a win away from a trip to the WNBA Finals.
Before looking ahead to Game 3, here’s more appreciation for the three biggest, but far from only, heroes for the Valkyries in Game 2, beginning with big-shot Burton.
Veronica Burton
Examine most advanced metrics and they’ll indicate that Burton was the Valkyries’ best player during the regular season, compiling an All-WNBA-worthy impact despite her modest counting stats and mediocre efficiency. Her advanced statistical standing testified to her two-way play as an expert game manager who excels defensively.
That version Burton, however, hadn’t shown up for the Valkyries for much of this semifinal series.
In Game 1, she was limited to 18 minutes, not seeing the court for much of the second half as head coach Natalie Nakase opted for Kaitlyn Chen over Burton. In Game 2, through her almost 28 minutes of playing time, she hadn’t made a field goal, missing her two attempts as she had collected just three points from the foul line. Three assists, a rebound, a steal and a turnover rounded out Burton’s stat line.
But what she hadn’t done did not deter Burton from doing what she did.
As VB said after the game, she “knew it had to go up,” so she fired the 3 without hesitation—and became Game 2’s biggest hero.
As Kayla Thornton said of her teammate:
That’s what she does…
She just stays poised. She might not be hitting, but she does little things. And when it’s time for her to do what she got to do, she comes up with it.
Gabby Williams
Maybe Golden State owner Joe Lacob wasn’t wrong when he boldly proclaimed that Williams is the best player in the world?
At the least, Gabby might be the best in Ballhalla.
She admitted as much in her postgame interview, crediting the support she receives from the Golden State faithful for giving her “superpowers.”
In addition hitting the late midranger that ensured the Aces’ late lead would only be temporary, Williams tallied 20 points, hitting three 3s, grabbing five boards and dishing three assists. On top of that, she continued to deliver the kind of defense that made her the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up, causing particular issues for Jackie Young.
Williams also embodies the fearlessness and awareness that defines Golden State’s playoff run. She eagerly has assumed the first-option offensive role that the organization envisioned for her, while also maintaining a cognizance of the challenges ahead.
Tiffany Hayes
Tiffany Hayes provided an off-the-bench scoring pop in Golden State’s two first-round wins, scoring 21 points in Game 1 and 18 points in Game 3.
After a quiet outing in Game 1 of the semis, scratching for just three points in 11 minutes, Tip authored another throwback effort in Game 2, with the former Sixth Player of the Year winner with the Aces dropping 21 points in 17 minutes, converting 60 percent of her field goals and going a perfect 8-for-8 from the line.
Hayes’ bench boost not only is illustrative of Golden State’s depth of contributors, but also of Nakase’s seemingly omniscient knowledge of her team. The head coach appears to know exactly who to call on, when and for how long. In Game 1, it was Chen; in Game 2, Hayes.
Her counterpart and former boss, Aces head coach Becky Hammon, can only dream of such optionality.
A top-heavy team light on reliable depth, and that was before Jewell Loyd was sidelined with an injury, the Aces are as reliant as ever on their Big 3, with Wilson, Gray and Young all playing at least 36 minutes and combining for almost 60 points. Young, in particular, appears worn down by the burden, failing to find her usual offensive efficiency.
Even as she is blessed with a deeper roster, Nakase emphasized the exhaustion her organization is striving to manage:
We’ve been kind of exhausted….I mean, you saw what happened to me. So the girls are actually kind of taking and being super mindful and then obviously we were talking about emptying the tank Game 1, being a really a physical team in order to get all the rebounds.
And so, the style that we play in terms of emptying the tank, mentality, strength in numbers in order to beat teams in the playoffs…like we couldn’t practice, to be honest. So we were doing some walk-through, heavy film sessions…
So it’s just been a lot of clean, concise, game planning over the last two days.
But on Wednesday, 37-year-old Hayes accessed the extra oomph to give Golden State the edge.
For Game 3, scheduled for Friday night in Vegas with travel required in between, who will the hero be?
