TO BE left open behind the 3-point arc in the defensive struggle that dominated Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Monday night, a player was going to need some rather subpar credentials.
Like, say, a four-for-21 mark on 3-point attempts in the playoffs over the previous 12 years.
Fortunately for the Golden State Valkyries, they had just such a player.
Kiah Stokes hit three 3-pointers to go with a dominant defensive effort, Gabby Williams sparked a fourth-quarter run with a three-point play, and the Valkyries took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Finals with a 64-55 victory over the Atlanta Dream in San Francisco.
The 2025 expansion team will have an opportunity to secure its first championship when Game 6 is played on Thursday afternoon in Atlanta.
In a contest that featured the lowest-scoring first half in WNBA postseason history (25-22) and threatened all-time lows for total points by one team and both teams in a Finals game, the Valkyries led just 46-42 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter before gradually pulling away.
Williams ignited a 16-4 run when she turned a drive to the basket into a three-point play, giving Golden State a seven-point lead with 9:08 remaining.
Stokes, a three-time champion who had gone 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the first four games of the championship series, then delivered the dagger with her third 3-pointer of the game, pushing the lead to 10 points at the 7:21 mark.
It wasn’t her idea to take even one 23-footer on a night when she finished 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, Stokes told reporters afterward.
“I was just shooting it, to be honest,” the 6-foot-3 center said, “(because) coach (Natalie Nakase) cussed me out when I passed up one, so I didn’t want to make her mad again.”
The Dream, who shot 29.2% overall and 23.1% (6-for-26) from 3-point range, got no closer than nine points the rest of the way. — Reuters