Valkyries vs. Wings: Gabby Williams Scores 23 as Golden State Clinches a Playoff Spot in Year Two

The clock read 0.1 when Tiffany Hayes' heave from the logo dropped through the net at Chase Center, and Stephen Curry, a man with some professional expertise in this area, came up out of his seat along with everybody else in the building.

It was that kind of Monday night in San Francisco. Gabby Williams scored 23, Veronica Burton added 16, and the Golden State Valkyries beat the Dallas Wings 78-70 to lock up a spot in the 2026 WNBA playoffs. Second season, second postseason, and a sixth straight win on top of it.

From 3 for 13 to Total Control

For the first few minutes, this looked like a night the Wings might steal. Golden State opened 3 for 13 from the field, Dallas hit seven of its first 10, and the visitors were up 15-8 with the crowd still settling in. The Valkyries chipped back with an 8-2 run, and Hayes' prayer capped it to make it 20-19 after one.

The second quarter turned into a demolition. Golden State closed the half on a 22-5 run, the last 11 of those points going unanswered, and walked into the locker room up 44-28. Burton and Williams combined for 15 during the surge, with Burton hitting all three of her 3s in the period, while the Wings went 2 for 10 from the field. Dallas scored nine in the quarter, its second-lowest second-quarter total of the season. The lowest, a seven, also came against these Valkyries on June 17, so at least there is a pattern.

The third was a wash at 18-18, but a 12-0 run bridging into the fourth stretched it to 66-46, the game's largest margin. That is where Dallas finally woke up. A 9-0 spurt made it 66-55, and Paige Bueckers went into full closer mode, scoring 10 of the Wings' last 15 points, mostly on pull-ups. The fourth went to the visitors 24-16.

It was never really in doubt, though. Williams' 3 with 3:49 left made it 69-55, and Golden State scored its last nine points at the foul line, with Burton, Kayla Thornton, Williams and Janelle Salaun all taking turns. Not glamorous, but playoff berths do not come with style points.

Gabby Williams, Full-Service Star

Williams took 20 shots and made eight, which does not sound like a masterpiece until you read the rest of the receipt: seven rebounds, three assists, three 3s, 4 of 4 at the line and a season-high four steals, per the team. It was her sixth 20-point game of the season. The five turnovers are the cost of doing everything.

Burton was the steadying hand with 16 points, five assists, two steals and 3-of-6 shooting from deep. Hayes and Salaun each added 10 off the bench, giving the Valkyries four players in double figures, and Hayes packed her total into 20 minutes despite picking up five fouls. Kiah Stokes returned to the starting lineup after the concussion protocol cost her the Chicago game. She did not score, but she gave Golden State 24 minutes and five rebounds.

Bueckers led the Wings with 21 on 8-of-18 shooting and was the main reason the ending got interesting, but seven turnovers are a hard number to hide. Arike Ogunbowale scored 17, going 6 of 6 at the line and just 1 of 7 from 3. Alanna Smith was efficient with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

The Last 2:45 of the First Half

Dallas shot better than Golden State for the game, 45 percent to 38. Dallas also lost by eight, and the reason lives in one stretch of the second quarter. With 2:45 left in the half, the Wings trailed 33-28, a manageable number against a team that had been clanking shots all night. They did not score again before the break. The Valkyries put up 11 straight, and a five-point game became a 16-point game before anyone could call for a reset. Dallas spent the rest of the night paying interest on that loan.

Stats That Matter

• 3-pointers: Golden State 12 of 36, Dallas 5 of 22. That is a 21-point gap from behind the arc in an eight-point game.
• Field goal attempts: Valkyries 72, Wings 58, thanks to a 10-4 edge in offensive rebounds and 18 Dallas turnovers to Golden State's 11.
• Second quarter: 24-9 Golden State, which was the whole ballgame.
• Defense: The team says this was a league-leading 10th game this year holding an opponent to 70 or fewer.
• Sellouts: 18,064 made it 41 straight in the regular season, which covers every regular-season game the franchise has played.

Back in the Bracket, Ahead of Schedule

Golden State is 25-9 overall and 15-4 at home, second in the league standings and the third team to clinch a postseason berth this year, joining Minnesota and Las Vegas, per the team. The Valkyries have already passed last season's win total by two and have won 15 of their last 17, according to the AP. Recall that they became the first expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in an inaugural season in 2025, then lost to top-seeded Minnesota by a single point in Game 2 of their first-round series. Citing the Elias Sports Bureau, the team says Golden State is the 14th team in North American pro sports history (MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, WNBA) to make the postseason in each of its first two seasons.

Dallas fell to 20-16 overall and 10-10 on the road, and the Wings have lost five of six. They host Indiana on Thursday. The Valkyries get first-place Minnesota on Wednesday, which should be a fun little preview of the stakes now officially on the table.

Sophomore Album, No Slump

Second albums are supposed to be where the buzz wears off. The debut gets all the love, the follow-up gets the think pieces, and the band quietly learns whether the first record was a fluke. Golden State's follow-up is already two wins bigger than its debut, with the tour dates now confirmed and a half-court banger on the track list. Curry stood up for it. So did everybody else.

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