10/10/2026 12:59:00
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10/10 00:57 CDT Valkyries secure WNBA Finals spot with OT win over the Aces,
face the Dream next
Valkyries secure WNBA Finals spot with OT win over the Aces, face the Dream next
By MARK ANDERSON
AP Sports Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) --- If the Aces set the recent standard by winning three of the
four past titles, the Valkyries are showing that not all the WNBA history
making these days belongs only to Las Vegas.
Golden State last season became the first expansion franchise to make the
playoffs, and now in its second year is the quickest to reach the WNBA Finals.
Kayla Thornton scored 18 points to lead the deep, defensive-minded Valkyries
past the Aces 87-77 in overtime Friday night, sweeping the defending champions
in three games.
"It feels special because this is a special group," said Gabby Williams, who
scored 16 points for the Valkyries, including eight in overtime. "We're about
to have some bandwagoners, but we ain't got no love all season. Nobody believed
in us, but it made us smile because we were like, ?All we need is each other.'"
The second-seeded Valkyries will have home-court advantage and will host No. 4
Atlanta beginning Oct. 17. The Dream swept New York earlier in the night, and
now teams are 22-0 in playoff history when leading a series 2-0.
This was the first time a Becky Hammon-coached Aces team was swept in the
playoffs. The last time Las Vegas went through that experience was in the 2020
Finals when the Bill Laimbeer-coached Aces were beaten in all three games by
Seattle.
"I'm going to try to show up and uphold that (championship) standard every
single opportunity I get because, hell, we created it," Aces star A'ja Wilson
said. "I feel like every year for us is championship or bust. So it's a bust
year for us, but at the same time, I'm never going to lose sight of what we've
done to this league and how we continue to uplift it."
This series had quite an Aces flavor to it on the winning side, from former Las
Vegas assistant and now Golden State coach Natalie Nakase to players Kiah
Stokes and Tiffany Hayes. They each had 11 points, and Stokes also grabbed 10
rebounds.
"I actually tried to walk through the tunnel with my head down because there
are so many people I consider family," Nakase said. "Obviously, Becky. She
hired me. She's the one who invited me into the W. The years I spent with her,
I knew I was going to learn a lot."
Her familiarity with the opposing side certainly didn't hurt.
Wilson, honored before night's game for winning an unprecedented fifth MVP,
scored 21 points, but on 6-for-19 shooting for the Aces. She also had 10
rebounds, joining DeWanna Bonner as the only players with 1,300 points and 600
rebounds in the postseason.
Jackie Young added 18 points and Chelsea Gray 17.
A 17-point run bolted Golden State past the Aces for a 53-47. Las Vegas closed
within a point by the end of the quarter, giving the Aces only seven points in
the period.
The Aces led by six points late in the game before the Valkyries evened the
score when Gabby Williams stole the ball from Wilson and Thornton finished with
a transition layup to make it 69-69 with 1:50 left.
Golden State then took the lead Veronica Burton's 9-foot floater with 1:12
remaining. The Aces tied the score on Gray's inbound pass to Young with 27
seconds left and ultimately force overtime.
The extra period belonged completely to the Valkyries, who outscored the Aces
16-6
___
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