The play that saved Golden State's season started with Gabby Williams' hands on A'ja Wilson's basketball.
With 1:50 left in regulation Friday at Michelob ULTRA Arena, the Valkyries trailed the Las Vegas Aces by two. Williams swiped the ball from the five-time MVP, pushed it ahead, and Kayla Thornton finished the transition layup to tie the game at 69-69.
In overtime, Williams scored eight of her 16 points and buried a step-back midrange jumper with 54.7 seconds left that the Valkyries' recap called the dagger. Golden State won 87-77 and swept the defending champions 3-0, becoming the quickest expansion team to reach the WNBA Finals.
ESPN's box score credited Williams with 6-of-16 shooting, a perfect 4-of-4 from the line, three assists, and three steals in 29 minutes. She did not hit a three. The night was about timing, not volume.
Built for the stop, then the finish
Golden State entered the postseason as the league's top defense and the No. 2 seed, yet still drew underdog billing against a Las Vegas club that had won three of the past four titles. The Valkyries never led in the first half Friday. Chelsea Gray had 15 points by the break, and the Aces took a nine-point cushion into intermission.
The third quarter flipped everything. Golden State ran off 17 straight points, held Las Vegas to seven in the period, and seized its first lead of the night. The Aces still clawed back to a six-point edge with about three minutes left in regulation. That is when Williams' steal from Wilson reset the series.
"Obviously, I wasn't blocking her, so I was just trying to beat her with my speed," Williams told ESPN.
Overtime belonged to the visitors, 16-6. Thornton, Williams, and Tiffany Hayes scored every Golden State point in the extra period. The Valkyries also went 8-for-8 from the foul line after regulation.
Thornton led all scorers with 18. Kiah Stokes posted 11 points and 10 rebounds on 5-for-5 shooting for her first career playoff double-double, and Hayes reached 500 career postseason points with 11 off the bench.