Valkyries beat Aces 87-77 in overtime. Atlanta awaits in the Finals.

Golden State beat Las Vegas 87-77 in overtime Friday night and completed a 3-0 WNBA semifinal sweep. The defending champions are out. The second-year Valkyries are headed to their first Finals, where they will face Atlanta.

Gabby Williams scored eight of her 16 points in overtime, according to the Associated Press recap published by the WNBA. Half her scoring came after regulation. That is the clearest number behind a finish that turned a close elimination game into a ten-point win.

Williams saved half her scoring for overtime

Golden State had already made one large recovery. A 17-point run put the Valkyries ahead 53-47 in the third quarter. Las Vegas later led by six late in regulation, but Williams stole the ball from A'ja Wilson and Kayla Thornton finished the transition layup that tied it 69-69 with 1:50 remaining.

Thornton finished with 18 points. Wilson had 21 points and ten rebounds but shot 6-for-19. Las Vegas still had enough scoring to keep the game alive. It did not have enough to force another game.

Our read: a sweep can hide the work required to finish it. Golden State had to erase a late deficit, survive regulation and then find another burst from Williams. Calling this simply a three-game mismatch loses the decisive stretch. The Valkyries earned the short series through a difficult final night.

The Finals now have two confirmed teams

The league's schedule confirms Atlanta at Golden State for Finals Game 1 on Saturday, October 17, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. Chase Center in San Francisco is the venue; NBC and Peacock are the listed U.S. viewing routes. Golden State has home-court advantage. Those are scheduled details, not a ticket-availability promise.

Atlanta swept New York earlier Friday. The Liberty's season and the Aces' season ended on the same night, leaving a Finals matchup that is now settled rather than conditional. Our Liberty report covers New York's fourth-quarter failure separately.

The schedule lists the first four Finals games, with Games 5 through 7 only if necessary. Game 2 is October 19 in San Francisco; Game 3 moves to Atlanta on October 22. Recheck the official schedule before making viewing or travel plans.