The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Dallas Wings 77-73 in Game 3 after completing a 16-point comeback in the 2026 WNBA playoffs. It was the first playoff series win for the Valkyries, who entered the league last season as an expansion franchise.
The Valkyries will face the defending champion Las Vegas Aces to advance to the finals.
After a stunning overtime victory in Game 2, the Wings carried that momentum into Game 3 and built a nine-point lead early in the second quarter. The Valkyries were able to bounce back in the bottom of the second and looked like they would take control from there.
Instead, the Wings stormed back, ending the first half on an 11-0 run, extending their lead to 16 in the third quarter as the Valkyries’ offense went ice cold. The momentum picked up again late in the third as the Valkyries went on a 14-4 run to make it a five-point game heading into the fourth.
The final shot was back and forth and full of drama. In the final two minutes, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase was briefly knocked down during a heated exchange with officials. He quickly got up and worked out the rest of the game, and the team told ESPN postgame that he was “tired during the game, but he’s fine.”
In the end, the Valkyries’ defense, energy and crowd proved too much for the Wings. With 1:17 left in the game, Gabby Williams hit a mid-range jumper to give the Valkyries the lead for good, then sealed the game at the free throw line.
Williams finished with a team-high 19 points, Veronica Burton had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Tiffany Hayes added 18 points off the bench.
Arike Ogunbowale, who set a WNBA playoff scoring record with 45 points in Game 2, backed it up with 30 points despite a late groin injury. However, he did not get enough help. It should be noted that although Paige Bueckers had 17 points, she shot 3 of 14 points from the field.
Game 1 between the Valkyries and Aces is Sunday in San Francisco. Before the quick turnaround, let’s take a look at how the Valkyries completed their epic comeback.
The real Valkyries defense has arrived
The Valkyries’ 99.1 defensive rating was the best in the league during the regular season and more than four points per 100 possessions better than any other team. They held opponents to 53.5% true shooting and converted opponents on 19.2% of their possessions — both marks were second in the league.
But that defense was nowhere to be seen in the first six games of this series. Their Game 1 lead was all about their offense, and in their Game 2 loss, they gave up 100 points for the first time in franchise history. It was much the same early in the third quarter in Game 3.
The Wings shot 20 of 38 (52.6%) to build a 16-point lead with 6:02 left in the third and turned the ball over just six times to that point.
Before the game, Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase said the team “will play the best quarterback defense of our lives tonight.” It didn’t happen, but they played one and a half of them. In the final 18:02, the Wings scored just 20 points, shooting 6 of 21 with four turnovers.
“I think the fact that we know it’s the last 10 minutes of the game, the backs against the wall, the pressure situation,” Hayes said when asked what changed for the Valkyries. “We’re going to have our backs against the wall and scratch and claw and do what we have to do and really close our schemes.”
“We were totally wired, totally connected. We were on the floor, helping each other out,” Hayes continued. “A switch honestly turned because I know it’s in my head, ‘That’s it.’ It’s literally win or go home, so you’ve got to do something.”
Defense strengthens offense
The main concern with the Valkyries all season long has been their offense, which has historically been 3-point happy and scoreless. While they often outscored teams in effort and physicality during the regular season, there were plenty of questions about what would happen in the playoffs if the 3s didn’t go in and they couldn’t get out and run.
We got our answer in the first two quarters on Friday, and it wasn’t pretty.
It took the Valkyries nearly three minutes to score in Game 3, and they had six different scoreless streaks that lasted at least two minutes. The longest of those, either side of halftime, lasted an astonishing six minutes and 40 seconds as the Wings built a 16-point lead. During that drought, they gave up 15 shots in a row.
But after making a few stops, they were finally able to play at a pace they were most comfortable with. A few easy baskets led to more defensive effort, which led to more confident shots. The Valkyries’ offense wasn’t perfect for much of the stretch, but trailed by 16 after shooting 13-of-44 (29.5%) before going 14-of-33 (42.4%) in the final 18:02. Most importantly, it covered 7 of 10 from 3-point range. The most important of those 3s were back-to-back layups by Williams and Kaila Charles to tie things up midway through the fourth quarter.
Williams lifts the clutch
Gabby Williams finished second to Angel Reese in Defensive Player of the Year voting, but while he’s best known for his defense, he was a second-career All-Star as he led the Valkyries with a career-high 14.4 points per game.
He scored 20 points in Game 1 and had a playoff career-high 36 points in a Game 2 loss. But in Game 3, he couldn’t get anything going offensively. He had just two points in the first half and Nakase even held him for more than four minutes in the third as the Wings took control.
A long stint on the bench helped Williams bounce back, and he hit a 3-pointer shortly after returning to the game late in the third and another 3-pointer to end the frame. He scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, including eight in the final 1:40, to lead the Valkyries home.
With less than two minutes remaining and the Valkyries still trailing by three, he drove past Bueckers to make it a one-point game, then hit a mid-range jumper on the next possession to put the game on the line.
“Big shot Gabby. She’s our dog, she’s our leader, she’s where we go,” Hayes said. “She showed you exactly why she is who she is, so we’re going to do it over and over again. We believe her. That’s Gabby f—ing Williams.”