Golden State 68, Atlanta 64. Williams and a 17-8 fourth quarter decide Finals Game 1.

Gabby Williams scored 26 points as Golden State beat Atlanta 68-64 at Chase Center on Saturday, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals. The Valkyries have their first Finals victory. They do not yet have a championship, and the way they won leaves both a strength and a warning to carry into Game 2.

Williams supplied 16 points in the second quarter. Golden State scored 28 in that period and reached halftime ahead 42-39, according to the league's official linescore. The scoring burst mattered because no other Valkyrie finished in double figures, the WNBA's Associated Press recap reports. This was not a balanced offensive night in which several scorers took turns controlling the game.

The quarter that changed the result

Atlanta answered with a 17-9 third quarter and entered the fourth ahead 56-51. Golden State then won the final period 17-8. That nine-point difference turned a five-point deficit into a four-point victory. It is the clearest comparison behind the result: the Dream had the lead with ten minutes remaining and scored only eight more points.

The team recap records a closing 7-0 Golden State run, six of those points coming on Williams free throws. The AP account identifies her two foul shots with 1:18 remaining as the go-ahead points and another pair with 4.1 seconds left as the finish. Atlanta still had late chances. Missed three-point attempts by Rhyne Howard, Naz Hillmon and Allisha Gray are part of the closing sequence, not evidence that the outcome had been comfortable or inevitable.

A narrow win leaves a real Game 2 question

Our read: Golden State's defensive finish and Williams' foul-line execution carried an offense that shot 32.1% overall and 7-for-33 from three. Winning with that shooting is valuable. Treating it as a repeatable offensive plan would be a much bigger claim. Atlanta's countercase is straightforward: it led after three quarters and remained within reach in the closing minute. One narrow loss does not erase that competitive position.

Game 2 is scheduled for Monday, October 19, at 8 p.m. Eastern at Chase Center. USA and Peacock are listed viewing routes. The league now lists Game 3 in Atlanta on October 21 and Game 4 on October 24, both at State Farm Arena. Those are current schedule details, not ticket-availability or access guarantees. The next test is whether Golden State can find more scoring help without giving back the defense that decided the opener.