Valkyries Sweep Aces, Reach First WNBA Finals in Franchise's Second Season

The Golden State Valkyries eliminated the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces from the WNBA semifinals on Friday night, winning 87-77 in overtime to reach the franchise's first championship series in only its second season of existence.

Kayla Thornton scored 18 points to lead Golden State, and Gabby Williams added 16, including eight in the extra period, as the Valkyries closed out the best-of-five series 3-0 in Las Vegas. Kiah Stokes, a former Ace, had 11 points and 10 rebounds against her old team, and Tiffany Hayes, another ex-Las Vegas player, scored 11. For the Aces, Jackie Young scored 18 and Chelsea Gray added 17, but reigning MVP A'ja Wilson was held to 21 points and 10 rebounds on an inefficient 6-for-19 shooting night as a bid for a third championship in four years came up short.

Fastest expansion team to the Finals

The win makes Golden State the quickest expansion franchise in league history to reach the Finals. The club was also the first expansion team to make the playoffs in its debut season a year ago, according to the team's official site. Golden State finished the regular season as the No. 2 seed and now holds home-court advantage for the championship series.

The Valkyries will face the Atlanta Dream, who completed a sweep of their own against the New York Liberty hours earlier the same night to reach the Finals for the first time since 2013. Atlanta had already built a 2-0 series lead behind Angel Reese and Jordin Canada before closing it out; New York had arrived in the semifinals as the first No. 8 seed in WNBA history to eliminate a No. 1 seed. Game 1 of the Finals is scheduled for Oct. 17 in San Francisco.

Las Vegas's elimination ends a run that had included consecutive titles and a trip to the semifinals for an eighth straight season, according to local coverage of the series. The Aces had trailed 2-0 after Golden State stole Game 1 on the road, 71-60, and then held off a furious Las Vegas rally in Game 2, winning 83-81 on Veronica Burton's go-ahead three-pointer with 41.5 seconds left and a Kiah Stokes block on the final possession.

Golden State's run has been built largely around players other franchises passed over or let go, a roster-construction model the league office has watched closely as it prepares to add further expansion franchises in the coming seasons. The team shares ownership and home-arena space with the NBA's Golden State Warriors, giving the second-year club resources unusual for a franchise still establishing its roster identity.

For the Aces, the sweep raises immediate questions about a roster that has now failed to reach the Finals after two championship runs. Wilson, Gray and Young remain under contract, but the front office faces an offseason of scrutiny after a semifinal exit that looked, for most of three games, uncompetitive; Las Vegas trailed by double digits for long stretches of all three losses and never led in the fourth quarter or overtime of the closing game.

Golden State now turns to preparing for a Finals opponent making its own unexpected deep run. Atlanta had not reached the championship series since falling to Minnesota in 2013, and its path back relied on the same mix of defense and timely scoring that carried it past New York. The best-of-seven Finals open in San Francisco on Oct. 17.