{"id":1635,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/1635","headline":"Gabby Williams erupts for 28 second-half points, Valkyries win Game 7","dek":"Golden State beat Atlanta 68-63 in a winner-take-all Game 7, with Williams named Finals MVP.","body":"Gabby Williams had two points at halftime of Game 7 and finished with 30. In between, the Golden State Valkyries forward scored 28 points over the final two quarters, the most ever in a half of a WNBA Finals, breaking Angel McCoughtry's previous mark of 27. Golden State trailed by as many as 9 points in the third quarter before Williams caught fire, hitting three straight threes and scoring 15 points in the period alone to flip the game. The Valkyries went on to beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 and claim the championship in just their second year of existence.\n\nWilliams was named Finals MVP, joining Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart as UConn products to win the award. She also added 4 blocks, 2 steals and 2 assists in the clincher. Williams arrived in Golden State as a free agent before the season began.\n\nThree other former UConn players — Kiah Stokes, Tiffany Hayes and Kaitlyn Chen — were also on the championship roster. Williams pushed back afterward on criticism of the Valkyries' roster, referencing doubts about the team lacking star power heading into the season.","published_at":"2026-11-01T17:18:12.852841+00:00","source_count":5,"written_from":[{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"How Gabby Williams' winding road eventually led to her destination: WNBA Finals MVP","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7742749/2026/11/01/valkyries-gabby-williams-wnba-finals-mvp/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Four former UConn women’s basketball stars win WNBA title with Valkyries","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/four-former-uconn-women-basketball-110519666.html"},{"outlet":"CBS Sports","publisher":"CBS Sports","title":"'I stayed patient': How Finals MVP Gabby Williams made history in Game 7 to fuel Valkyries to WNBA title","url":"https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/gabby-williams-finals-mvp-game-7-valkyries/"},{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Gabby Williams fires back at Valkyries doubters with ‘no stars’ jab after WNBA title","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/10/31/sports/gabby-williams-valkyries-wnba-title/"},{"outlet":"SB Nation","publisher":"SB Nation","title":"The WNBA Finals were decided by an all-time performance","url":"https://www.sbnation.com/womens-sports/1134505/wnba-finals-golden-state-valkyries-atlanta-dream"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Gabby Williams named MVP as the Golden State Valkyries win first WNBA championship","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/gabby-williams-named-mvp-golden-024343722.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"The WNBA Finals were decided by an all-time performance","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/wnba-finals-were-decided-time-023757262.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"WNBA Finals 2026: Gabby Williams earns MVP honors after Finals-record 28 second-half points","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/article/wnba-finals-2026-gabby-williams-earns-mvp-honors-after-finals-record-28-second-half-points-023526388.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Gabby Williams leads Valkyries to WNBA championship in second season, beating Dream 68-63 in Game 7","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/gabby-williams-leads-valkyries-wnba-024743344.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Golden State wins first WNBA title in franchise history","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/golden-state-wins-first-wnba-023806628.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Valkyries guard Gabby Williams named 2026 WNBA Finals MVP","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/valkyries-guard-gabby-williams-named-023747076.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Who won WNBA Finals MVP? Gabby Williams claims honor after historic Game 7 scoring outburst","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/won-wnba-finals-mvp-gabby-023546857.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"WNBA Finals 2026: Gabby Williams earns MVP honors after postseason-record 28 second-half points","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/article/wnba-finals-2026-gabby-williams-earns-mvp-honors-after-postseason-record-28-second-half-points-025528535.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Barack Obama, Martina Navratilova & Others React After Gabby Williams Makes Valkyries Fastest Expansion Team in American Pro Sports History to Win a Title","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/barack-obama-martina-navratilova-others-033609860.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Valkyries’ Gabby Williams chants ring through Ballhalla during WNBA Finals Game 7 heater","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/valkyries-gabby-williams-chants-ring-034117765.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Valkyries’ Gabby Williams wins WNBA Finals MVP after monster performances vs. Dream","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/valkyries-gabby-williams-wins-wnba-040354640.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Most points in a WNBA half: Gabby Williams makes history while leading Valkyries to first championship","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/most-points-wnba-half-gabby-040253442.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Valkyries’ Gabby Williams gets last laugh after ‘no stars’ talk in 2025","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/valkyries-gabby-williams-gets-last-042429003.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"“All We Heard Last Year, ‘We Don’t Have No Stars’”: Gabby Williams Fires Back at Critics As She Secures WNBA Finals MVP","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/heard-last-don-t-no-042920125.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Yaxel Lendeborg congratulates Finals MVP and Valkyries star Gabby Williams after Game 7 win","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/yaxel-lendeborg-congratulates-finals-mvp-051055114.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Gabby Williams dressed like a winner for MVP performance in WNBA Finals Game 7","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/gabby-williams-dressed-winner-mvp-054005809.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Valkyries’ Gabby Williams passes A’ja Wilson for all-time WNBA Finals scoring record","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/valkyries-gabby-williams-passes-ja-054123687.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘Choke Barbie,’ ‘I Can’t Defend Her’ — WNBA Fans Unload on Angel Reese After 3-Point 2nd Half in Game 7 Loss to Valkyries","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/choke-barbie-t-defend-her-052620603.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘Angel Reese Is 0-1 in the Finals,’ ‘Thank You, Gabby Williams’ — Dave Portnoy, Caitlin Clark Fans Troll Dream Star After Game 7 Loss","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/angel-reese-0-1-finals-091619877.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Led by the heroics of Finals MVP Gabby Williams, the Golden State Valkyries capture a historic WNBA championship","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/led-heroics-finals-mvp-gabby-094500997.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘Way better’ – WNBA fans are in awe of Finals MVP Gabby Williams’ Game 7 display","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/way-better-wnba-fans-awe-094000058.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘Losing her…’ – How Tyrese Haliburton hyped Gabby Williams in Valkyries’ Game 7 win","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/losing-her-tyrese-haliburton-hyped-114500959.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Kamala Harris’ special message to WNBA champions Golden State Valkyries is going viral","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kamala-harris-special-message-wnba-120000737.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://static01.nyt.com/athletic/uploads/wp/2026/10/31235752/GettyImages-2302923715-scaled-e1793505508366.jpg","credit":"The Athletic","width":2560},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}