Valkyries vs. Dream: Veronica Burton and Gabby Williams Finish It as Golden State Completes Season Sweep

Down three with 3:16 left, in a building that had just watched Angel Reese score five straight points. That was the spot the Golden State Valkyries found themselves in on Saturday afternoon at Gateway Center, and what they did next explains why they have become such a headache to play lately.

An 8-0 run flipped the game, Veronica Burton finished with 21 points, Gabby Williams added 19, and Golden State left College Park with an 88-83 win over the Atlanta Dream. That's four straight for the Valkyries, a season sweep of the Dream, and a fifth straight loss for Atlanta.

Twenty-Two Lead Changes, Zero Chill

Golden State came out firing, with Cecilia Zandalasini and Williams connecting from deep in the opening minute on the way to a 12-2 lead. It lasted about as long as a TikTok trend. Atlanta answered with 11 straight in 1:44, and an Allisha Gray 3 put the Dream in front. From there the game turned into hot potato, finishing with 22 lead changes and 14 ties. It was not a gentle afternoon either: 48 total fouls, a flagrant on Golden State and a technical on each side.

Atlanta took a 22-19 lead after one, and then Janelle Salaun gave the Valkyries their first real breathing room, scoring the last six points of the half on a step-back 3 and a three-point play to make it 42-35. It did not last. The Dream opened the third with seven straight to tie it at 42, and they carried a 59-57 lead into the fourth.

Then the last five minutes got loud in front of the 3,596 at Gateway Center, and neither team could hold a lead for more than a possession or two. Rhyne Howard's free throws put Atlanta up 70-69 with 4:53 to go. Burton's 24-footer swung it back, Gray tied it from the line, and Burton drove for another go-ahead bucket at 74-72. Then came Reese, with a three-point play at 3:47 and two free throws at 3:16 that made it 77-74 Dream.

Eight Straight When It Counted

This was the game. Williams started the answer with a drive and a three-point play at 2:07 that tied it at 77. Burton went ahead with a 2-foot layup off a Kaila Charles feed at 1:38. Then Williams found Charles for a 24-footer at 1:04, and Golden State led 82-77.

The Valkyries never gave that lead back, though Atlanta had plenty of fight left. Howard converted a three-point play at 59.4 to make it 82-80, and her 25-foot 3 at 14.1 cut it to 86-83. In between, Williams banked in a 9-footer with 37.7 left and Burton knocked down two free throws at 20.3. Charles closed it with two more at 6.5, and that was that. Golden State's 31 points in the fourth were eight more than it scored in any other quarter, and Atlanta's 24 would usually be enough to hold a two-point lead.

The Closers and the Cast

Burton's line was ruthlessly efficient: 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 2-of-3 from deep, 7-of-8 at the line, four assists and a plus-13. Nine of those points came in the final 4:31 alone, which is the part of the game where a lot of players start looking for someone else to take the shot.

Williams, playing for the first time since being named an All-Star starter, put up 14 of her 19 after halftime. Her four 3s tied a season high, according to the team, and she added three steals with no turnovers, a neat trick in a game this frantic. Salaun scored 14 off the bench on 3-of-6 from deep, with 11 of them by the break. Charles had just seven points, but her eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and plus-11 in 18 minutes made her the glue on the floor when it mattered. Kiah Stokes added seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks despite five fouls, and Kayla Thornton finished plus-18 while going 1-of-7, a useful reminder that this team's defense can carry a shooting slump.

For Atlanta, Gray scored 22 but needed 17 shots to make five, surviving on 11-of-16 free throws. Reese's 14th double-double of the season came with 17 points, 13 rebounds and five offensive boards, and she ended the day with six fouls. Howard hit four 3s on the way to 19, Madina Okot gave the Dream 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting in 10 minutes, and Jordin Canada dished out eight assists.

Stats That Matter

• 15 steals: A season high by the AP's count and a franchise record according to the Valkyries, shared among seven players.
• 23-13: Golden State's edge in points off turnovers, after Atlanta gave it away 17 times.
• 13-of-34: The Valkyries from 3, against 8-of-26 for the Dream. That's a 15-point gap in a five-point game.
• 23-of-33: Atlanta at the line. The Dream took 16 more free throws than Golden State and left 10 points out there.
• 37-30: Atlanta's rebounding edge, including 12 offensive boards. The extra possessions kept the Dream close, just not close enough.

What It Means

Golden State is 14-7 and 4-4 on the road, with wins of 77-66, 78-75 and now 88-83 over this Atlanta team. Next up is Washington on Monday.

Atlanta's fall is getting hard to ignore. The Dream were 12-4 after beating Toronto on June 22. They are 12-9 now, having gone 0-4 on a road trip before losing the first game back at home, where they are still 6-3. Seattle visits on Thursday, the next chance to stop this thing before it picks up a nickname.

Groundhog Day in College Park

For Atlanta, the last two weeks have played like Groundhog Day: new building, tighter game, same Valkyries walking out with the win. The movie at least offers a way out at the end. The Dream will take whatever exit Seattle leaves open.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press and the Golden State Valkyries.