LAS VEGAS -- The Golden State Valkyries had a goal when they were founded a year ago -- to win a title within the first five years. A lofty goal, but the Valkyries always believed they could do it. Now, they are one step closer.
The Valkyries became the first expansion team to reach the WNBA Finals within its first two seasons, completing a three-game sweep of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Friday night with an 87-77 overtime victory. Golden State will face the Atlanta Dream in a best-of-seven series that begins Oct. 17 in San Francisco. The Valkyries opened as a -125 favorite to win the championship.
"To be here in this moment is a blessing. We're making history," guard Veronica Burton said. "This is unimaginable, but for us it's so realistic. It's what we expected and what we worked toward. It's what we believed in the entire year. ... We had ultimate confidence coming in here."
Said coach Natalie Nakase: "Big dreams. This is a dream come true to be going to the Finals in our second year."
Last season, Golden State became the first expansion franchise to make the postseason in its first year by reaching the playoffs as the No. 8 seed. The Valkyries did it with a roster built through an expansion draft, with players their former teams deemed somewhat expendable. This year, they added forward Gabby Williams and center Kiah Stokes in free agency, and the two proved to be game changers in the playoffs and for the overall trajectory of the team.
The Valkyries entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and with the best defense in the WNBA. Still, facing reigning champion Las Vegas and five-time MVP A'ja Wilson, Golden State was an underdog again.
"It feels special because this is a special group," Williams said. "We are going to get some bandwagoners because we weren't getting no love all season. Honestly, no one believed in us, but it honestly made us smile. All we need is each other."
Forward Kayla Thornton added: "This was a rough road. To beat Vegas 3-0, it's crazy."
The Valkyries needed a second-half rally to complete the sweep Friday night, trailing by 11 points early in the third quarter. It was their largest deficit of the series and their first double-digit one. But the Valkyries have been in these types of situations before and didn't panic. Just last series, they trailed the Dallas Wings by 16 points in Game 3 before coming back to win.
It all started on the defensive end, as nearly every bit of success has for Golden State.
"I told them to remember our response is to come closer together, come tighter, to huddle up and grab hands, to communicate," Nakase said. "It wasn't us. ... We were like, OK, let's come back out, be us and bring it to another level."
The Valkyries responded by going on a 17-0 run in a seven-minute span to take a five-point lead and held Las Vegas to seven points in the third quarter. The Aces managed to rebuild a six-point advantage with three minutes left in regulation, but Golden State chipped away at that as well. With 1:50 left in regulation and the Valkyries down by two, Williams had the defensive play of the night, swiping the ball from Wilson and getting it to Thornton, who hit a layup to tie the score.
"Obviously, I wasn't blocking her, so I was just trying to beat her with my speed," Williams said.
Before the start of overtime, Burton said she told the Valkyries, "Now is our time -- this is it, so lay it all out there."
"We knew we had an extra gear in us," she said. "That's the beauty of our team. We play so many people, so we knew we had an extra gear."
Thornton, Williams and Hayes scored all of Golden State's points in overtime and finished with 18, 16 and 11, respectively. Stokes also had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Golden State outscored Las Vegas 16-6 in overtime.
"I told them I was proud of our whole team," Nakase said. "I saw another level of fight tonight. ... We talked about leveling up one more as a team, and I think overtime proved that. Strength in numbers. We really left it all out there on the floor. We emptied the tank."