Valkyries edge Dream in WNBA Finals opener after teams miss anthem
publishers 30articles 34first reported 16 Oct, 09:15 UTCdeveloping since 18 Oct · 10 editions
Gabby Williams scored 26 points as the Golden State Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream 68-64 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Williams scored 16 points in the second quarter and made four decisive free throws late in the game. With Golden State trailing 64-63 and 1:18 remaining, she rebounded a missed shot by Atlanta’s Allisha Gray, drew a foul from Angel Reese and converted both free throws. Williams added two more with 4.1 seconds left to secure the victory.
Golden State won despite having no other player score in double figures. The Valkyries held Atlanta to eight points in the fourth quarter, when the Dream made two of 19 field-goal attempts. Gray returned after missing two games with a hand injury and led Atlanta with 19 points, but did not score in the final quarter. Reese recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Rhyne Howard added 12 points.
Before the game, both teams left the court during the performance of the national anthem after participating in warmups, then returned shortly after it ended, according to OutKick. The reason for their absence was not immediately clear. OutKick said the WNBA, Dream and Valkyries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Golden State will host Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on Monday.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 2 articles, 2 with the publisher's own text; 2 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 12 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- Source articles
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- Given to the writer
- 2, 2 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 2
- This version written
- 12 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
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- Human review
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WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
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