NFL
By: Ashmere Prasad
San Francisco – After Game 3, Gabby Williams was frustrated. She vented in the postgame huddle, visibly upset. But over the last two games, the Valkyries adjusted on both ends of the floor; Natalie Nakase changed the starting lineup to speed things up. They improved their defense on Angel Reese and played more physically than we’ve seen all season. Their tempo and tone changed. The hunger to win was loud and clear.
Now they lead the WNBA Finals 3-2 after a 64-55 win in Ballhalla on Monday night, a season-low for the Dream.
Veronica Burton and Kiah Stokes have built a harmonious chemistry over the last two days. Burton, the league’s best point guard (words from Natalie Nakase), has combined stats over the last 2 games: 75 minutes, only two turnovers, six blocks, and 11 rebounds. Although her shooting percentage isn’t her favorite stat (28%), she’s been the driving force behind the Valkyries’ victories. She’s putting it all on the floor.
“This is the WNBA Finals; leave it all out there,” she said postgame. Burton also made history. Her four blocks were a postseason career-high, and she tied Diana Taurasi’s 2009 stat of most blocks by a guard in a Finals game.
Ballhalla roared ‘MVP, MVP’ chants after the victory, and Stokes had another historic game. She racked up two more blocks and hit 3-of-4 from the arc, finishing with 13 points. “What she does daily is incredible,” Burton shared. “We’re not here without Kiah.”
Kiah Stokes has three 3-pointers tonight.
She made three or fewer 3s in six of her 11 seasons in the league.
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) October 27, 2026
In a finals series where so much can change, Stokes’ performance has been the one constant. The way she’s picked up Angel Reese defensively has obviously frustrated her and limited her ability to get to her spots. She’s made her presence feel unavoidable and taken over against the bigs, one series at a time.
“I want to win. To win, I want to beat the best, and these are some of the best players in the league, especially this series. We’re not done yet, and I know I can always do better. It’s not just me, it’s our whole team. They rely on me; they give me energy and confidence. And I just do what I can to help this team in any way possible.”
When Stokes heard the fans chant MVP, she thought, “Man, ya’ll crazy.” She continued, explaining that the entire team gives their best effort on the floor for one another, and they need each other to succeed. “If you take any person off our team, we’re not in this position.”
When your point guard and center are getting rebounds, blocks, and hitting clutch shots, what more could you ask for?
Foul Troubles
The last two games have drawn major complaints from fans across social media about the foul calls, or lack thereof. Dream fans were frustrated after their Game 4 home loss, saying their team deserved more than 31 foul calls. (Golden State had 13).
Tonight, Reese and head Coach Karl Smesko commented on the refs’ inconsistency and said they believed multiple missed calls need to be addressed.
Reese has scored 15 points on 4-for-20 shooting since Game 3, compared to her 51 points and 28 rebounds in Games 2 and 3.
It’s no secret that the officiating has been an issue in this series, yet the Dream have had the advantage. Atlanta has been to the line 130 times to the Valkyries 78. In Game 4, there were many inconsistencies, and those mistakes carried into Game 5, frustrating both teams; for the Dream, though, the lack of calls on basketball mistakes needs to improve.
“The contact they allow on Angel compared to everyone else is ridiculous, just ridiculous. We should’ve gone to the foul line like six to eight more times. Then to miss double-dribbles and travels, multiple times, that always led to points. There are things that are on us – like we’re missing shots we should make. That needs to be a whole lot better than it was. I’m kinda tired of some of the excuses I’m hearing,” Smesko shared postgame. You could tell he was upset by the constant mistakes and lack of consistency from the league and the refereeing.
Game 6 will look very different because of not only this comment from the Dream but also Nakase’s earlier comments about the lack of foul calls in the series. Once the Valkyries realized they couldn’t wait for the whistle, they decided to keep playing their game and get more physical. More physicality can lead to more calls, but if the opposing team is doing it, who knows when the refs will call those fouls. I believe in Game 6 we will see an uptick in calls, which will slow down the pace, or the referees will stay on their path and let the players ball out.
The Dream had to make a quick decision about their Game 6 location and chose an early-morning 9:30 AM PT / 12:30 ET tipoff in Atlanta. Originally, Game 6 was set to take place at Gateway Arena because of a Hawks game that evening, but moving it earlier lets the Dream host a redemption game in front of 17,000 fans rather than 3,500.
