The Golden State Valkyries completed a state sweep of the Las Vegas Aces on Friday.
With an 87-77 overtime win Friday, the Valkyries eliminated the defending champions in the WNBA semifinals. They are headed to the WNBA Finals in their second year of existence.
It will be Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream who will be waiting for them. The Dream completed their own sweep of a championship-winning core earlier in the evening, eliminating the New York Liberty in another close game.
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Whoever wins, it will be the first championship in franchise history. It will also be the first time since 2021 that the final will feature neither the Aces nor the Liberty.
The first game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 17 (NBC/Peacock).
It’s the continuation of a dream season for the Valkyries, who followed a highly successful inaugural season in 2025 with the second-best regular season record in the WNBA at 32-12. From day one, under head coach Natalie Nakase, a former Aces assistant, they relied on an identity built around relentless defense and a 3-point truck.
It ended up being more than the Aces could handle. The first three halves were absolute misery for the defending champions, although they made the second game competitive with an excellent fourth quarter. They seemed to carry something of that into Game 3, entering halftime with a nine-point lead that could have been 12 if Chelsea Gray had made a 3-pointer a second earlier.
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Unfortunately, this momentum fizzled shortly after the third quarter. The Valkyries went on a 17-0 run to take the lead and then some, and Las Vegas had to play catch-up just to force overtime. Both teams had chances to score late in regulation, but shots from Gabby Williams and Chelsea Gray flailed.
Overtime proved one-sided, with Gabby Williams landing the dagger with less than a minute to go.
Kayla Thornton led the Valkyries with 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting, plus 9 rebounds, while Williams had 16 points on 16 shooting. The biggest factor might have been Kiah Stokes, the defensive center who scored 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals in a team-high 37 minutes.
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Stokes’ real job was clear throughout the series: don’t let A’ja Wilson do GOAT stuff. She was mostly successful, limiting the five-time WNBA MVP to 23 points per game on 41.7% shooting plus 7 rebounds and 1 assist per game during the series. Those are solid numbers, but not for Wilson. She had 32 points on 64.6% shooting and 11.7 rebounds per game in her previous series against the Indiana Fever.
With Jackie Young facing foul trouble on a poor shooting night and Chelsea Gray posting 17 points (only two of them after halftime), the Aces didn’t have much of a well to draw from, especially given their other injuries.
It’s the first time Las Vegas has been swept since Becky Hammon took over, and the kind of streak that raises the question of how many years are left in that window with Wilson at 30.
Follow Yahoo Sports for all the news, highlights and more from Game 3 of the Valkyries-Aces semifinal series:
Jack Baer
Cassandra Negley
Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson being eliminated from the semi-finals on the same night is crazy.
Yahoo Sports Team
Golden State will make the WNBA Finals in its second year in the league.
Yahoo Sports Team
Williams hits a step-back jumper and the Aces are on the ropes with less than a minute to play.
Yahoo Sports Team
The Valkyries took a four-point lead on a Gabby Williams layup, and the Aces finally had an answer with more than two minutes left in overtime.
Yahoo Sports Team
Gabby Williams misses Golden State’s last attempt, and Chelsea Gray’s last-second prayer doesn’t pan out either. Overtime, we will…
Yahoo Sports Team
Jackie Young floats in a layup and we’re tied up again.
Yahoo Sports Team
On an 8-0 run, the Valkyries had another Ace turnover and Gabby Williams missed a chance to put Golden State up by four. Becky Hammon calls a timeout with 32.8 seconds remaining.
Yahoo Sports Team
Kiah Stokes drives to the hoop for 2, A’ja Wilson turns it over at the other end and Kayla Thornton ties it with 1:50 left.
Yahoo Sports Team
Jack Baer
The Aces perform adult games throughout the sequence. Chelsea Gray finds Kalani Brown under the basket to give Vegas a five-point lead and cause a Valkyries timeout.
Jack Baer
Gabby Williams makes her first basket since the first quarter. She has up to 6 points, on 3 of 11 shots.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Jackie Young’s second 3-point basket puts the Aces back in the lead.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Veronica Burton commits her fourth foul eight minutes from time.
Jack Baer
Golden State still holds the lead after this big run, but the Aces seem to have woken up.
Jack Baer
The Aces finally end a 17-0 streak. It’s still a four-point lead over the Valkyries.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
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