Golden State Valkyries Oust Dallas Wings to Reach WNBA Semifinals

The No. 2 Golden State Valkyries beat the No. 7 Dallas Wings 77-73 in a winner-take-all Game 3 on Friday at Chase Center, closing out their best-of-three first-round series and advancing to their first WNBA semifinals, according to ESPN. Golden State will host the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces, the reigning WNBA champions, in Game 1 of their best-of-five semifinal series on Sunday, per ESPN.

How did the Valkyries erase a 16-point deficit?

Dallas built a 16-point lead at the midway point of the third quarter after closing the first half and opening the second half on a 20-0 run, ESPN reported. Golden State answered with a 14-4 surge over the final 4:54 of the third quarter, trimming the deficit to five points entering the fourth. Forward Gabby Williams hit two 3-pointers during that stretch and kept scoring and defending down the stretch of the fourth quarter, according to ESPN's game account.

Who led Golden State's comeback?

Williams finished with a team-high 19 points in Game 3 after scoring a career-high 36 in Game 2, ESPN reported. Tiffany Hayes added 18 points and Veronica Burton scored 16 for the Valkyries, per ESPN.

How historic was the comeback in WNBA playoff history?

The 16-point rally ties the fifth-largest comeback in a winner-take-all game in WNBA playoff history and is the largest since the Las Vegas Aces overcame a 16-point deficit against the Connecticut Sun in Game 5 of the 2020 WNBA semifinals, according to ESPN.

What numbers defined Game 3?

• Final score: Golden State 77, Dallas 73
• Largest Dallas lead: 16 points, reached at the midway point of the third quarter
• Wings' run spanning two quarters: 20-0
• Valkyries' answering run to close the third: 14-4 over the final 4:54

What does the win mean for the semifinal matchup?

Golden State, an expansion team a year ago, finished the regular season with the league's best defense and the No. 2 seed, ESPN noted. The Valkyries now face an Aces team that eliminated the Indiana Fever and is seeking to defend its title. ESPN's recap frames Golden State's defensive identity — one that limits opponents to low scoring outputs — as the foundation of its push to the semifinals, though the outlet did not provide a full-season points-allowed figure in this story.

What's next for Dallas and the rest of the bracket?

Dallas' season ends with the loss, and ESPN separately covers the Wings' offseason outlook in its playoff coverage hub. In the other semifinal matchup set for Sunday, the No. 4 Atlanta Dream will host the No. 8 New York Liberty, according to ESPN's schedule. The Aces-Valkyries and Dream-Liberty series are both best-of-five, meaning each team needs three wins to advance to the WNBA Finals.

Full schedule, box scores and additional takeaways are available via ESPN's playoff coverage.

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