Valkyries One Win From a Title After Game 1 Stunner, Host Dream Tonight

The Golden State Valkyries are one win from the first championship in franchise history after holding off the Atlanta Dream 68-64 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday, a result that handed the No. 2-seeded Valkyries a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 2 tonight. The teams meet again at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center, with the league's official Finals hub listing Golden State still ahead in the series.

Williams delivers down the stretch

Forward Gabby Williams scored a game-high 26 points and took over in the final minutes, according to the Valkyries' own game recap, hitting four free throws in the last 78 seconds, including two that put Golden State ahead for good at 65-64 and two more that sealed the win with 4.1 seconds left. Atlanta got a near-triple-double effort from Angel Reese, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Allisha Gray added 19 points and Rhyne Howard scored 12. The Dream led for much of the fourth quarter before Williams' late burst turned the game.

Dream look to even it up tonight

Golden State is making just its second season as a franchise and is already one win from a title, a run Yahoo Sports notes would make the Valkyries the fastest expansion team to win a WNBA championship. Atlanta, seeded fourth, has already upset two higher seeds to reach the Finals and will lean on Reese's rebounding and Gray's scoring to force a Game 3 back in Atlanta later this week. Tonight's game airs on USA Network and streams on Peacock, with Bay Area fans sensing a potential clincher. A Valkyries win would close out the series from a 1-0 start in historic fashion for a second-year franchise; a Dream win would even things at 1-1 and shift momentum back to Atlanta heading into Game 3.