WNBA Crowns a Champ After Game 7 Thriller

The Golden State Valkyries captured a championship in just their second season by beating the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in a sensational first WNBA Finals Game 7 on Saturday night, per the AP. Gabby Williams scored her team's final 11 points of the third quarter and dazzled through the fourth on the way to 30 points. "Gabby is our closer—she stayed patient, she stayed with it," coach Natalie Nakase said. "Closing with 30, that is incredible!" Williams joined Penny Taylor in 2007 for Phoenix as the only players in WNBA history to score 30 or more points in a winner-take-all Finals game.

Jordin Canada scored 18 points, Allisha Gray 16, and Angel Reese had eight points and 12 rebounds for the Dream, denied another championship in the franchise's fourth try. Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds left, and Atlanta forced a jump ball, but Veronica Burton corralled it and converted two free throws with 5.1 seconds to go for Golden State. When the final buzzer sounded, the violet-clad sellout crowd at Chase Center went into a frenzy as players sprinted to the middle of the floor to hug and celebrate as confetti fell from the rafters.