Kiah Stokes loves playing in front of the home crowd at “Ballhalla,” but the Golden State Valkyries center has no interest in returning there before the WNBA Finals are over.

After the Valkyries took a 3-2 series lead over the Atlanta Dream with a 64-55 win in Game 5 on Monday night at Chase Center, Stokes made it clear she wants to close things out on the road.

“We don’t wanna give Atlanta any life,” Stokes said, via Madisyn Cunningham of Winsidr. “As much as we love Ballhalla, we don’t wanna come back here.”

Game 6 is set for Thursday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. If the Dream force a Game 7, the series would return to San Francisco on Saturday.

Stokes was a big reason the Valkyries are one win away from their first championship. The veteran center delivered a season-high 13 points to go with eight rebounds and three blocks, and she knocked down three 3-pointers in a game where points were hard to come by.

Her timely shooting helped Golden State pull away. After Rhyne Howard’s three-point play cut the lead to 34-31 in the third quarter, Stokes and the Valkyries answered. She buried a pair of key threes, one late in the third and another with 7:21 remaining in the fourth.

Stokes has now recorded at least three blocks in six straight games, tying Lisa Leslie’s 2003 mark for the longest such streak in a single WNBA postseason.

Her teammates have taken notice. “We’re not here without Kiah,” Veronica Burton said.

Burton also starred on the defensive end with 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, tying Diana Taurasi’s record for the most blocks by a guard in a Finals game. Tiffany Hayes chipped in 12 points.

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Defense was the story from start to finish. Golden State led just 25-22 at halftime, the lowest-scoring first half in WNBA Finals history. Atlanta turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 21 points for the Valkyries.

Angel Reese grabbed 15 rebounds for the Dream but was held to seven points and committed three offensive fouls.

The Valkyries, who entered the league as an expansion team in 2025, are now on the doorstep of a title in just their second season. Neither franchise has won a WNBA championship.

Stokes and the Valkyries will look to finish the job on Thursday.