Golden State's Gabby Williams torched the Atlanta Dream for 26 points, and the expansion Valkyries survived a furious fourth-quarter rally to escape with a 68-64 win in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday at a sold-out Chase Center in San Francisco.

It wasn't easy. Williams exploded for 16 points in the second quarter alone to stake Golden State to a comfortable cushion, but Atlanta clawed all the way back and grabbed a 64-61 lead with just over three minutes left, sending the Mission Bay crowd into a nervous hush. The Valkyries answered with a 7-0 closing run, capped by two Kiah Stokes free throws that put Golden State ahead for good, 66-64, with 23.8 seconds on the clock.

Gray's Return, Reese's Night

Atlanta got a lift it badly needed when Allisha Gray returned to the starting lineup after missing the final two games of the semifinal sweep of New York with a left ring finger injury on her shooting hand. Gray poured in a team-high 19 points. Angel Reese was a force inside with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and point guard Jordin Canada ran the offense efficiently with 8 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, according to a live Game 1 account from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Still, the Dream couldn't find a bucket when it mattered most, going scoreless over the final three-plus minutes.

Golden State had a couple of its own scares late. Guard Tiffany Hayes took a hard fall to the floor chasing a steal attempt in the closing minutes and walked off under her own power, while Williams needed a trainer's attention on the bench after banging knees with Canada during a box-out on free throws, per the WNBA's official Game 1 recap. Neither appeared to be seriously hurt.

The victory is a milestone moment for the Valkyries, who are making the first Finals appearance in franchise history just one season after joining the league as a 2025 expansion team. For Atlanta, it's the franchise's first trip back to the championship round since 2013, when the Dream lost in the Finals for a third straight time. A title this year would be the first in franchise history.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series shifts back to Chase Center on Monday, with Golden State looking to take a commanding 2-0 lead before the series heads to Atlanta's Gateway Center Arena.