SAN FRANCISCO — Gabby Williams was 1-of-7 from the floor with three minutes left in the third quarter. Her Golden State Valkyries trailed the Atlanta Dream by four points. Nothing was falling. The kind of night that breaks a player’s rhythm for good.
Then Williams flipped something. Actually, a few things.
She leaned on her teammates first — Kiah Stokes turned away shots at the rim like she owned the paint, and Kaitlyn Chen provided a scoring spark off the bench. Williams found her own game after that. She scored 13 straight points in the fourth quarter, stripped Atlanta guard Jordan Canada for a fastbreak layup, and hit the free throws that sealed a 78-75 win. The Ballhalla crowd on Pride Night roared the whole way.
“I couldn’t lose on Pride Night,” Williams yelled into the microphone during her courtside interview. The place erupted. She meant it.
Williams finished with 16 points, but the box score doesn’t tell the story. She was the engine when it mattered most.
A star finding her stride in Golden State
This wasn’t a one-game thing. Over the last nine games, Williams is averaging 19.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 46.3% from the field. It took some time for her to settle in with a new team, but the Valkyries have figured out how to make her offense pop.
“Our philosophy of opening that room for her is what actually made her a better offensive player,” head coach Natalie Nakase said before the game. “She’s already amazing from the jump. It’s just the fact that we were able to provide her space, right? So that the rim opens. When she can see the gaps and attack downhill, whether it’s right or left, she can blow by so many matchups.”
Nakase has been adamant about Williams’ ceiling since day one. “I told you guys, what did I say on day one? I said she’s one of the best players in the world. She’s our star. She’s definitely an All-Star. But she’s going to give credit to her teammates, because that’s who she is. She’s the most humble star I think I’ve ever coached before, and that’s what makes her shine even more.”
Pride Night meant more than a win
Williams didn’t hide what the night meant. “I take Pride Night personally,” she said. “This game is probably like the one that everyone has circled on their calendar. The Bay Area historically has been a pioneer for the Pride movement, and so I wanted to get the win for the day.”
She laughed when she added, “For the gays,” echoing Stokes who was next to her at the podium and referencing a viral Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve quote from the past week.
Stokes was a monster underneath. Thirteen points and seven blocks against Atlanta’s taller lineup. The communication between her and Golden State’s perimeter defense allowed them to funnel drives toward her, and she swatted everything that came near. Nakase said they needed every single block in a three-point game.
But Williams took them home. That’s the part Nakase loves most.
“She’s developing into our closer. She wants to close, and our players are trusting her too. To be the ones who are spacing out. So, yeah, very proud.”
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