SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Valkyries have the upper hand in the WNBA Finals.
The franchise, which is in its second season of existence, is one game away from it's first title after a 64-55 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Monday, Oct. 26, at the Chase Center. They now hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
It was a defensive battle as the Valkyries held the Dream to a season-low 55 points. Atlanta shot 29% from the field gave up 21 points on 17 turnovers.
Kiah Stokes continued her MVP-worthy performance with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Veronica Burton had near identical line with 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Cecilia Zandalasini and Tiffany Hayes added 12 points each.
"I want to win and to win, I wanna beat the best and these are some of the best players in the league, especially this series," Stokes said "And I don’t know, I just take the challenge.
"I think our whole team, they rely on me, they give me energy, they give me confidence. And yeah, I’m just trying to do what I can to help the team in any way possible."
Here are the winners and losers from Game 5 of the WNBA Finals:
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Winners
Valkyries rim protection
The Golden State Valkyries blocked nine shots in Game 5 and in the process set a new WNBA Finals record with 37 blocks in a single series.
Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton set a postseason career high with four blocks and tied Diana Taurasi for the most blocks by a guard in a WNBA Finals game. Center Kiah Stokes had her sixth straight games with at least three blocks, tied with Lisa Leslie for the longest streak in a single postseason in WNBA playoff history.
Both teams packed the paint on defense. Although Stokes served as the primary anchor down low for Golden State, Burton did a phenomenal job rotating and assuming position as the last line of defense under the basket. The Valkyries limited the Dream to 9-of-33 shooting in the paint, including 3-of-12 in the second half.
Valkyries center Kiah Stokes
Valkyries center Kiah Stokes has been borderline unstoppable on the defensive side of the ball. That didn’t change on Monday, where she recorded three blocks in Golden State’s Game 5 win — her fifth consecutive game with three or more blocks in the WNBA Finals.
Stokes also flexed her offensive capabilities. Although the 6-foot-3 center said she was “just shooting it,” Stokes connected on 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc. Stokes finished with 13 points, her highest scoring performance in the entire postseason.
“To be honest, (Tiffany Hayes) cussed me out when I passed up one (shot), so I didn't want to make her mad again,” joked Stokes, who rounded out her stat line with eight rebounds and one assist.
Veronica Burton said the Valkyries would not be in the position they are in without Stokes.
“Seriously, what she does on a daily basis and she asks for nothing in return. She's one of the most humble people I've ever met,” Burton said. “It's more than just defense. I know everyone wants to talk about defense with Kiah, but it's offense too and she contributes on both sides of the ball. So we're really happy to have her.”
Valkyries guard Veronica Burton's aggressiveness
Veronica Burton wasn't just struggling throughout the series. It seemed like her confidence was in limbo, second-guessing when to drive, pass or shoot. She looked deep within herself for a spark, had the reassurance of teammates and turned in her best game of the series.
Big Shot Burton, as the Bay Area fans affectionately call her, finished with 13 points (on 5-of-15 shooting), eight rebounds and four blocks, a WNBA Finals record (tied with Diana Taurasi) for most blocks in a game by a guard.
"It's the team and the confidence that they pour into me. I really feel it," Burton said. "It's so hard to perform if you don't feel like people have your back, around you. And it's so easy to perform when you feel like they have your back. And that's what it is here. Like, it is so much love and just so much, like, energy poured into you that you just feel invincible almost."
Through five games in the WNBA Finals, Burton is averaging 9.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.
Losers
Officiating
The Valkyries have played great defense but the referees have missed enough calls, according to Atlanta Dream coach Karl Smesko, that he took them to task in defense of Angel Reese after Game 5 — which is notable, considering his even-keel nature.
“I give them credit for playing good defense,” Smesko said. “But I mean, I do want to have Angel's back here. The contact they allow on Angel compared to everybody else is just ridiculous. It's just ridiculous. And we should have gone to the foul line six to eight more times just on that.
"To miss double dribbles and travels, multiple that always led to points, man, you can't be at this level and make that many mistakes. ... And it's time that if you push somebody with two hands as they drive, it's got to be a foul. And I'm kind of tired of some of the excuses that I'm hearing.”
Reese made Finals history with three straight double-doubles through the first three games of the series and has been limited to less than 10 points in the Dream’s back-to-back losses.
She said Monday night officials have even missed intentional fouls on her, and noted the shift in the calls started after the Dream established a 2-1 lead.
Golden State coach Natalie Nakase, when asked about the physicality, noted contact is bound to happen between two defensive-minded teams.
Dream turnovers
In the fourth quarter alone, Atlanta had more turnovers (7) than field goals (5). The Dream barely ended the game in the black with 19 made field goals and 17 turnovers (tied with Finals Game 4 for the team’s most this postseason) were extremely costly.
Atlanta attempted 65 shots to Golden State’s 61 but conceded 21 points off turnovers – accounting for almost a third of Golden State’s total points. In a series where shooting is at a premium, those giveaways add up fast.
Dream bench
The Dream bench registered four points, all scored by Isobel Borlase. DeWanna Bonner was held scoreless in 13 minutes, shooting 0-of-2 from the 3-point line. Dream head coach Karl Smesko gave Te-Hinea Paopao and Madina Okot some minutes in the first half in search of some production, before trimming the rotation back to seven players.
As the Dream starters continue to log heavy minutes across this best-of-seven series — Rhyne Howard played 38 minutes in Game 5 — Atlanta will need someone on their bench to step up.
In comparison, Golden State has the highest-scoring bench of the regular season. Natalie Nakase didn’t play Janelle Salaun, the 2026 Sixth Woman of the Year, in Game 5, but the Valkyries showed their strength in numbers with 15 bench points. Cecilia Zandalasini led all reserves with 12 points off the bench.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kiah Stokes (again) and officiating among WNBA Finals Game 5 winners and losers