Gabby Williams leads the way again for Valkyries, who beat Las Vegas 71-60 in Game 1 of WNBA semis

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gabby Williams had 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Kiah Stokes added 14 rebounds and three blocked shots, and the Golden State Valkyries took Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals by beating the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 71-60 on Sunday.

A'ja Wilson scored 24 points while Chelsea Gray contributed 16 points for Las Vegas, which lost guard Jewell Loyd to a left leg injury early in the third quarter, and was held to its lowest point total of the season. The team said she was being evaluated and coach Becky Hammon didn't have an immediate update afterward.

Playing to chants of “Gabby! Gabby!” from the sellout crowd at Chase Center, Williams scored 18 of her points on 6-for-10 shooting in the first half, including a 3-pointer that put Golden State ahead 32-23 with 5:43 left before halftime.

That defeaning “Ballhalla” home crowd turned the arena into a sea of violet-colored T-shirts and energy the Valkyries have so counted on in their first two seasons. Fans waved and cheered when the final buzzer sounded and confetti fell.

Game 2 in the best-of-five series is Wednesday night back at Chase Center.

“The goal here is to win our home games, so yes we did well for the first game but the Aces are championship-caliber, they know what it takes to win,” Stokes said. “I know in their locker room they're not happy with how they played so their whole goal is to come to our house and still win games, so they still have the opportunity to do that. Going forward we know that we need to come out on Wednesday and make sure we set the tone again.”

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase was well enough to coach after she went down on the sideline near Golden State's bench with 1:40 remaining Friday night in a 77-73 comeback win to clinch the first-round series against Dallas. She was examined by a doctor during the day off Saturday.

Jackie Young’s 3-pointer with 8:25 left pulled Las Vegas within 58-53. WNBA leading scorer and reigning MVP Wilson made 6 of 11 first-half shots for 15 points for the third-seeded Aces.

It was a defensive, low-scoring game in which neither team shot particularly well — the Valkyries 37.7% to 33.9% for Las Vegas — after both went the distance in the best-of-three first round to advance.

Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton struggled on the offensive end, missing a layup and 3-pointer during one third-quarter sequence and sat down at the 7:29 mark. Nakase then went to Kaitlyn Chen for the rest of the game and she scored 11 points.

Burton didn't have a health issue.

“She's amazing and she's feeling great,” Nakase said. “Kaitlyn Chen was fresh and I'm playing a fresh Kaitlyn Chen.”

Mixing and matching rotations worked out after Golden State shot just 31.4% — 11 for 35 and 5 of 15 on 3s — in the first half. Newcomer Aminata Gueye came off the bench to score nine points in 12-plus minutes for the Valkyries. She signed with the team Sept. 20 after playing with Williams and Janelle Salaun on the French team in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

Salaun received a rousing ovation when she entered the game with 2:25 left in the first quarter after being named WNBA Sixth Player of the Year before the game.

Kayla Thornton also pulled down 11 rebounds to go with eight points for the Valkyries, who dominated the boards with a 52-25 advantage.

“We were really really connected tonight, I felt we were communicating, I felt like we were showing them bodies and then it came down to rebounding,” Williams said. “I said after the game that KT and Kiah really won this game for us, limited them to one possession and gave us extra possessions.”

Hammon called it one of her team's "most atrocious games of the season" in which they were outhustled.

“We lost the game on the boards, no question about that,” Hammon said, noting all her team talked about the past 48 hours was rebounding and blocking out.

Golden State was 3 for 10 from 3-point range in the opening quarter and finished just 7 of 24 from deep, also overcoming 14 turnovers that led to 11 Las Vegas points.

Aces forward Stephanie Talbot missed the game because of a left leg injury.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) drives to the basket against Golden State Valkyries forward Cecilia Zandalasini (24) during the first half of Game 1 of the WNBA basketball semifinals in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson, third from right, is fouled by Golden State Valkyries center Kiah Stokes (41) as Valkyries' Veronica Burton, left, defends during the first half of Game 1 of the WNBA basketball semifinals in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) drives to the basket against Golden State Valkyries' Kiah Stokes, right, and Veronica Burton (22) during the first half of Game 1 of the WNBA basketball semifinals in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) drives to the basket against Las Vegas Aces' Brianna Turner, right, during the first half of Game 1 of the WNBA basketball semifinals in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) drives to the basket against Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson, second from right, during the first half of Game 1 of the WNBA basketball semifinals in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase was back on the bench and and well enough to coach her team to a 71-60 Game 1 win in the WNBA semifinals Sunday against Las Vegas after she went down on the sideline two days earlier in the first-round clincher with what she described as exhaustion.

“Just exhaustion,” she said. “I ate and drank right after and felt better.”

The 46-year-old Nakase said she was examined by a doctor during Saturday's off day ahead of the series opener Sunday and insists she will be “proactive” with both her health and mental health. The players encouraged her to take time for recovery, something she constantly stresses to them.

“I'm good. I had a little exhaustion obviously,” she said. “I think I talked to you guys about what I have to learn from my father. He was an extremely hard-working man. I followed in his footsteps and I thrive in that. But he told me, ‘Natalie,’ this was about 10 years ago when I never knew what I was going to do with my career and he just said, ‘do not let your career ever get involved if your mental health or your health gets complicated.’ So, when that happened, it definitely was like a wake-up call for me but I got checked through the doctors. Obviously everything looks good.”

On Sunday, Nakase sat on the bench for stretches when she's usually on her feet for the majority of a game. Assistants Kasib Powell and Landon Tatum rotated with her because she said she “couldn't vocalize” everything.

“I was all right, I wasn't my best but luckily I have an amazing staff,” she said.

She plans to something her dad didn't and “be proactive,” such as considering wearing a heart monitor and taking other steps to deal with her extreme work ethic. She already wears a tracking ring to monitor some health statistics.

“Information for me is really important,” she said. “I just want to be proactive, be smart. I understand this job for me I love it, sometimes I love it too much to a point I overwork. I just want to make sure I'm being smart.”

That might mean “no extra, extra, extra film” and sticking to the timeline on a given day.

“It's taking the time and organizing my mornings,” she said with changing game times and schedules. “... Everything's a little bit different with my routine.”

Nakase didn't address the team after the 77-73 win Friday night against the Dallas Wings at Chase Center, when her team rallied from a 16-point deficit.

With 1:40 remaining in the game, she was on the sideline near the Valkyries' bench and lowered to the floor with her head and hands on the court. Nakase was helped up by athletic trainer Katelin Knox. The coach finished the game but exited the floor immediately following the final buzzer escorted by a member of her staff as her team celebrated at midcourt.

The best-of-five matchup with the defending WNBA champion Aces features Nakase coaching against Becky Hammon, who had Nakase on her staff as an assistant coach from 2022-24 — when the team won consecutive titles in 2022 and '23.

Hammon called Nakase a “little mighty mouse work horse, there's no doubt about that.”

“The stress this time of year is real, the pressure, you don't get a lot of sleep, you're not eating as well as your probably should, there's a lot of factors that go into that,” Hammon said. “It was kind of scary actually to watch. That little sucker popped right back up though, popped right back up onto that marker and kept it pushing. She's tough.”

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, front, talks with her players during the second half of Game 1 of the WNBA basketball semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase speaks to the media before Game 1 of the WNBA basketball semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase speaks to the media before Game 1 of the WNBA basketball semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase watches play in the first half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Dallas Wings Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase instructs her team during the second half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Dallas Wings Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)