Valkyries beat Dream 64-55 in Game 5, move one win from the WNBA title

The Golden State Valkyries are one win away from a championship in only their second WNBA season. Golden State beat the Atlanta Dream 64-55 on Monday night, Oct. 26, at Chase Center in San Francisco to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals, according to ESPN and the AP.

Center Kiah Stokes led the way at both ends. She scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and added eight rebounds and three blocks, according to the ESPN box score. The Valkyries held the Dream to 29% shooting and forced 17 turnovers, and Atlanta's 55 points were its lowest total of the season, ESPN reported.

The series now moves to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 12:30 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena.

How the Valkyries won Game 5

Points were hard to come by all night. Atlanta led 14-13 after one quarter, and Golden State went into halftime ahead 25-22, according to the box score. The San Francisco Standard reported that the 47 combined points made it the lowest-scoring first half in WNBA Finals history. Burton scored nine of the Valkyries' first-half points as Gabby Williams struggled from the field, the Standard reported.

Golden State opened the third quarter with a quick run, sparked by a Stokes corner 3-pointer and a drive to the basket by Tiffany Hayes, according to the Standard. Howard kept Atlanta close, but the Valkyries led 46-40 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter belonged to Golden State. Stokes' third 3-pointer of the night pushed the lead to 10 with about seven minutes left, the Standard reported, and the Valkyries led by as many as 16, according to ESPN's game data. Golden State outscored Atlanta 21-6 in points off turnovers.

ESPN described a game in which the Dream never found a comfortable stretch on offense, with the Valkyries forcing turnovers, deflecting passes and blocking or altering shots throughout. Golden State finished with nine steals and nine blocks. Burton had four of those blocks to go with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

The Valkyries got help from their bench, too. Cecilia Zandalasini scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and Hayes added 12 points, including 4 of 4 free throws. Williams finished with nine points, six rebounds and three steals on a 3-of-14 shooting night.

Stokes' big night

Stokes is not known as a scorer, which made her outside shooting stand out. The Standard reported that she had not made three 3-pointers in a game since May 2024 and had made more than one 3-pointer just once in 54 career playoff games before Monday.

Her defense has been the bigger story of the series. Stokes has now blocked at least three shots in six straight games, which ESPN said ties Lisa Leslie's 2003 mark for the longest such streak in a single WNBA postseason. Stokes won three WNBA titles with the Las Vegas Aces before signing with Golden State in April, the Valkyries said.

Before Game 5, Stokes told USA Today that after falling behind 2-1 in the series, the team had stressed coming out strong and making nothing easy for Atlanta, instead of letting the Dream throw the first punch.

A tough night for Atlanta

The Dream's frontcourt had trouble all game. Starting forwards Angel Reese and Naz Hillmon went a combined 3 of 13 from the field for nine points, ESPN reported. Reese still finished with 15 rebounds and five assists, and Hillmon grabbed 11 rebounds. Veteran DeWanna Bonner went scoreless on two shots.

Howard scored 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Jordin Canada added 12 points and five assists but shot 5 of 16, and Allisha Gray scored 10.

Reese, named the league's Defensive Player of the Year this season according to USA Today, was the Dream's driving force in the middle of the series. She scored a combined 51 points in Atlanta's wins in Games 2 and 3, CBS Sports reported. Golden State has held her in check in the two games since, including an 8-point night on 2-of-12 shooting in Game 4, CBS Sports reported.

How the series got here

Golden State, the No. 2 seed, won Game 1 at home 68-64, according to ESPN's game results. Gabby Williams scored 26 points in that game, the San Francisco Standard reported. The No. 4-seeded Dream answered by winning Game 2 in San Francisco 79-65 and then routing the Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 in Atlanta.

The Valkyries evened the series with a 67-62 road win in Game 4 on Saturday. The Standard reported that coach Natalie Nakase changed her starting lineup, mixed in zone defense and ran more pick-and-roll offense in that game, and she kept the new lineup for Game 5.

ESPN noted a pattern in the series: in the three games in which both teams were held under 70 points, Golden State won all three.

The second-year Valkyries

Golden State joined the league as an expansion team in 2025, ESPN reported. The San Francisco Standard said the Valkyries were the WNBA's first expansion team since 2008 and that the franchise had set a goal of winning a title within its first five years. A win on Thursday would give the club its first championship in its second season.

Game 6: Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET

The WNBA moved Game 6 to 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday so it could be played at State Farm Arena, home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, Deadline reported. The Hawks moved their own game that night to 8 p.m. ET, according to Deadline.

The Dream normally play at Gateway Center Arena, which seats about 3,500 and is the smallest arena in the league, Deadline reported. State Farm Arena seats more than 17,000, and Atlanta played Games 3 and 4 there. Deadline said the Dream will move their home games to State Farm Arena starting next season.

USA Network will carry Game 6, with streaming on Peacock, according to Deadline and ESPN's schedule. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in the league's announcement that Games 3 and 4 had drawn sellout crowds and that the move would let thousands more fans see a game with the title on the line, according to Deadline.

For Golden State, a Game 6 win would mean clinching the title on the road and in the morning Pacific time, ESPN noted. If Atlanta wins, Game 7 would be played Saturday, Oct. 31, at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco, Deadline and the San Francisco Standard reported.

What we don't know yet

• Whether either team will report injuries before Game 6. None were announced after Game 5.
• Whether a Game 7 will be needed. It would be played Saturday night in San Francisco.

What happens next

• Game 6: Thursday, Oct. 29, 12:30 p.m. ET, State Farm Arena, Atlanta. TV: USA Network; streaming: Peacock.
• Game 7, if necessary: Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. ET, Chase Center, San Francisco.

*Credits: reporting from ESPN, the Associated Press, the San Francisco Standard, Deadline, USA Today, CBS Sports and the Golden State Valkyries. Photo: John Mac / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (archive photo). NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*

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