SAN FRANCISCO — Gabby Williams scored 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and provided five assists, while Kiah Stokes contributed 14 rebounds and three blocked shots, leading the Valkyries to a 71-60 victory over the defending champion Aces in Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals on Sunday.
A’ja Wilson scored 24 points and Chelsea Gray added 16 points for Las Vegas, which lost guard Jewell Loyd to a left leg injury early in the third quarter and recorded its lowest point total of the season. The team reported that Loyd was being evaluated, but coach Becky Hammon did not provide an immediate update afterward.
Williams received chants of “Gabby! Gabby!” from the sellout crowd at Chase Center, scoring 18 of her points on 6-for-10 shooting in the first half, including a 3-pointer that put Golden State ahead 32-23 with 5:43 remaining before halftime.
The home crowd, referred to as “Ballhalla,” created an energetic atmosphere with violet-colored T-shirts as they celebrated when the final buzzer sounded and confetti fell. Game 2 in the best-of-five series is scheduled for Wednesday night at Chase Center.
“The goal here is to win our home games, so yes we did well for the first game, but the Aces are championship-caliber; they know what it takes to win,” Stokes said. “I know in their locker room they’re not happy with how they played so their whole goal is to come to our house and still win games, so they still have the opportunity to do that. Going forward we know that we need to come out on Wednesday and make sure we set the tone again.”
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase was able to coach after being examined by a doctor following a previous game where she went down on the sideline.
Jackie Young’s 3-pointer with 8:25 left in the game narrowed Las Vegas's deficit to 58-53. Wilson, the WNBA leading scorer and reigning MVP, made 6 of 11 first-half shots for 15 points for the Aces.
The game was characterized by strong defense and low scoring, with neither team shooting particularly well — the Valkyries at 37.7% and the Aces at 33.9% — after both teams advanced from the first round of the playoffs.
Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton struggled offensively, missing a layup and a 3-pointer during a third-quarter sequence before being replaced by Kaitlyn Chen, who scored 11 points.
“Mixing and matching rotations worked out after Golden State shot just 31.4% in the first half,” Nakase said. Newcomer Aminata Gueye contributed nine points in over 12 minutes of play after signing with the team on September 20.
Janelle Salaun received applause when she entered the game after being named WNBA Sixth Player of the Year. Kayla Thornton also contributed with 11 rebounds and eight points for the Valkyries, who dominated the boards with a 52-25 advantage.
“We were really, really connected tonight, I felt we were communicating, I felt like we were showing them bodies, and then it came down to rebounding,” Williams said. “I said after the game that KT and Kiah really won this game for us, limited them to one possession and gave us extra possessions.”
Hammon described the performance as one of her team’s “most atrocious games of the season,” emphasizing that they were outplayed in rebounding.
“Golden State was 3 for 10 from 3-point range in the opening quarter and finished 7 of 24 from deep, also overcoming 14 turnovers that led to 11 points for Las Vegas,” Hammon noted. Aces forward Stephanie Talbot missed the game due to a left leg injury.