{"id":3151,"date":"2026-06-27T15:37:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T15:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3151"},"modified":"2026-06-27T15:37:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T15:37:26","slug":"gabby-williams-fourth-quarter-takeover-proved-she-is-the-valkyries-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3151","title":{"rendered":"Gabby Williams\u2019 fourth-quarter takeover proved she is the Valkyries\u2019 star"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 For three quarters, it was hard to tell if <\/span>Gabby Williams<\/span> was on the floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The box score showed three points beside her name. With Williams struggling and the Valkyries playing the uber talented <\/span>Atlanta Dream<\/span>, it felt as if one more scoring run could put Golden State away for good.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the fourth quarter came and Williams had seen enough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Valkyries guard took over the game Friday as she scored 13 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to seal a <\/span>78-75 win<\/span> on a night when Golden State couldn\u2019t buy a bucket. Her highlight sequence came when she hit a pull-up jumper, then stole the ball from Dream point guard Jordin Canada to seal one of the Valkyries\u2019 most impressive wins of the season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The performance put a punctuation on something that Williams has been building all season. The Valkyries don\u2019t just have a good player in Williams \u2013 they have a star, and she\u2019s learning exactly how to become one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI told you guys day one, she\u2019s one of the best two-way players in the world,\u201d Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. \u201cWe\u2019re just providing the stage for what we already knew. She\u2019s absolutely a star, she\u2019s our star. She\u2019s definitely an All-Star, but she\u2019s going to give credit to her teammates, because that\u2019s who she is. She\u2019s the most humble star I think I\u2019ve ever coached before, and that\u2019s what makes her shine even more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A year removed from making the first All-Star team of her career, Williams has elevated her game to another level. Known as a defensive specialist whose offensive game has gradually gotten better since her rookie season eight years ago, Williams has undoubtedly become Golden State\u2019s No. 1 option as she has averaged a career-high 16.3 points while shooting 42.3% from the field and 35.6% from the 3-point line this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But for most of the game Friday, the Dream held the French Olympian in check.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Williams scored three points in the first quarter and was held scoreless for the next 20 minutes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Valkyries\u2019 offense faltered. Turnovers, missed shots and bad execution doomed Golden State for much of the night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The only thing keeping them in the game was a solid defensive performance and an off night from Dream star Rhyne Howard, who finished with nine points on 2-for-16 shooting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both teams went back-and-forth, trading leads throughout the fourth quarter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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But something clicked for Williams around the four-minute mark of the final period. With the offense seemingly having nowhere to go, the Valkyries turned to Williams and she delivered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The former Connecticut standout got back into a rhythm when she attacked a closeout from Allisha Gray and drove all the way to the rim for an easy right-handed finish to score her first points since the first quarter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After hitting two free throws on the next possession, Williams decided that no one was going to stop her at the rim. even when players like Angel Reese and 6-foot-6 Madina Okot were at the rim to challenge her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Williams credited the rest she got late in the third going into the early minutes of the fourth as to why she found her second wind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI didn\u2019t have it in the first, and they held it down for me so that I was nice and fresh for the fourth quarter,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI think that\u2019s the beauty of this team. \u2026 They all picked up where I wasn\u2019t there, and then when it was time for my number to be called, I had fresh legs.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the defining sequence that put her star power on notice came with just over 90 seconds left in the game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the game tied, the Valkyries set Williams up to go one-on-one with Howard at the top of the key. Williams caught the ball, drove right and quickly changed directions with the between-the-legs dribble. She bounced the ball twice more and got to her spot right inside the free throw line and elevated over the outstretched hands of Howard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Swish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the next Atlanta possession, Williams picked up a red-hot Canada on a switch. Before she could even make her move to the basket, Williams used her quick hands to swipe the ball out of the veteran point guard\u2019s hands. She then went coast-to-coast to end the play with a left-handed finish at the rim to put the Valkyries up four.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though the Dream were still within a possession of the Valkyries\u2019 lead at the end of the game, it didn\u2019t matter. Williams took their heart with that sequence and everyone in the building felt it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And for Williams, the stakes of the night extended well beyond the box score.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s game was the Valkyries\u2019 Pride Night, and Williams \u2013 one of the most outspoken athletes for the LGBTQ+ community \u2013 made clear that a loss was simply not an option.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t lose on Pride night,\u201d Williams said on the Ion broadcast after the game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She carried the energy into the Valkyries\u2019 postgame huddle. As Golden State gathered to celebrate the win, Williams\u2019 voice rose above the celebration as she screamed \u201cFor the Gays!\u201d repeatedly as her teammates erupted around her. It was equal parts a victory lap and love letter to a community that has rallied behind her and the franchise since Day One.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s developing into our closer and she wants to close,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cI\u2019m very proud. I\u2019m proud of Gabby because she\u2019s building a different level of confidence that I\u2019ve never seen before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Three points through three quarters. Then a steal. Then a dagger. Then a scream for the people she loves most.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Gabby Williams experience has shown glimpses of greatness throughout this season. But on Friday night, she announced herself as a star and made sure everybody heard it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Saturday grand opening for Johnny Doughnuts, a Food Network favorite<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Williams scored 13 straight points in the final 3:30 of the fourth quarter in Golden State\u2019s win over the Atlanta Dream<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nGabby Williams\u2019 fourth-quarter takeover proved she is the Valkyries\u2019 star - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3151\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gabby Williams\u2019 fourth-quarter takeover proved she is the Valkyries\u2019 star - 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