Defense looms large as Valkyries, Dream reach critical Game 5

Two franchises seeking their first WNBA championship can move one step closer to their goal when the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries vie in Game 5 of the league finals on Monday night in San Francisco.

Gabby Williams scored 17 points and the vaunted Valkyries defense harassed Dream star Angel Reese into eight points on 2-of-12 shooting as Golden State evened the best-of-seven series at two games each with a 67-62 victory in Atlanta on Saturday.

In a series where turnovers have played a major role in determining winners, Williams and Reese have grabbed the spotlight. The winner of their scoring duel has led their team to victory in all four games.

A free-agent signing last offseason, Williams had 26 points in the Valkyries' Game 1 victory before her 17-point effort led to another victory in Game 4. The All-Star has averaged 21.5 points, shooting 32.6% (14 of 43), in those games, as opposed to 14.5 points on 24.2% shooting (8 of 33) in her team's two losses.

Reese's disparity has been even greater. Acquired from the Chicago Sky in an April trade, the league's Defensive Player of the Year exploded for 30 and 21 points, respectively, as the Dream won Games 2 and 3. Reese's 25.5-point average and 60.7% shooting (17 of 28) in Dream victories contrast with her 11.0 points per game on 7-of-23 shooting (30.4%) in the losses.

The Valkyries have leaned into their defense all season and know they need to go to their strength to contain Reese and the Dream.

"She's been the head of their snake all series," Golden State defensive ace Kiah Stokes said. "Just trying to make every look that she had at the basket difficult. It's a tough job, but being our best defensive big, I gotta own up to that challenge."

Creating points off turnovers has also been a critical factor in the teeter-totter series.

Golden State forced 18 Atlanta miscues and turned them into 16 points in the Game 4 win. The Dream were limited to eight points off turnovers as the Valkyries won Game 4.

Golden State had a 17-8 scoring edge off turnovers when it won Game 1 68-64. Atlanta had 12 turnovers in that contest, while the Valkyries committed 19 turnovers total in their two wins.

The Dream forced 19 and 17 turnovers, respectively, in their two wins, turning them into 24-13 and 22-7 scoring advantages, respectively. That's a 26-point difference in games decided by 40 points total.

"Lack of focus on our parts," Atlanta's Rhyne Howard said of the sloppy play in Game 4 that prevented the team from moving one win away from the franchise's first title in its 19-year history. "We kept talking about it, but we didn't (do anything) about it."

Game 6 is set for Thursday in Atlanta.

--Field Level Media