Valkyries Win Game 4 in Atlanta to Tie WNBA Finals Series 2-2
The Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream in Game 4 of the Women’s National Basketball Finals.
The Valkyries were coming off a difficult 97-71 loss in Game 3, but tied up the best-of-seven series in Atlanta on Saturday with a 67-62 win. The win guarantees that the series will at least go through Game 6.
Guard Tiffany Hayes told reporters after the game that fans in Ballhalla in San Francisco — where Game 5 will take place on Monday — need to “get loud, get ready.”
This year has marked a historic playoff series for the WNBA as a whole. The 2026 WNBA championship tournament has brought in record-breaking viewers and stadium sell-outs, giving basketball fans across the country reasons to celebrate.
Valkyries were looking for redemption. The team changed up their starting lineup, putting in Hayes and Kaila Charles for Game 4, putting Charles in to defend Dream star forward Angel Reese.
Golden State played scrappier on Saturday, diving for loose balls and securing turnovers. By halftime, the team took a commanding lead of 42-26 over the Dream. Valkyries held on to a more narrow advantage of 54-45 by the end of the third quarter.
With less than 30 seconds left in the game, the Dream had narrowed the lead even more, but the Valkyries held on.
“The beauty of our sport is that as bad as we felt on Wednesday, we get to turn around and make it right today,” forward Gabby Williams said after the game.
Fan Miles Ott was hyped about the win.
“We’ve got a freaking series, baby,” Ott told KQED after the game.
Renard Hayes, Tiffany Hayes father, said after the game that Atlanta brought the vibe, but Golden State got the win.
“As for being her father, I’m so proud of her,” Renard said.
Dozens of Valkyries fans from across the country trekked out to Atlanta for Game 4, gathering at a food hall just outside of State Farm Arena on Saturday morning before tip off. They brought the Ballhalla spirit to the east coast in head-to-toe purple, from hats and sequin bomber jackets, to custom crocheted Valkyries vests, and extravagant mythical warrior costumes.
Even though the Golden State fans were outnumbered on the Dream’s home turf, they were loud and took over a section of the stands in all violet on Saturday.
Beverly McClendon and Leanne Deegenaars — donning Williams-signed jerseys, Valkyries headgear and violet checkered pants — flew from San Francisco to cheer on the team with other fans and said they were “ready to win it all.”
“It’s like you have 150 of your new best friends that you just met.” McClendon said.
Ashley Thomas-Williams organized a meet-up that brought several fans to the game. She said she did “a little tossing and turning” the night before the game, but still wanted to support the team.
“They need us here. They need to feel us,” Thomas-Williams said.
Stephisha Ycoy-Walton, who came with their family, said going into the game 2-1 was a gut-wrenching, but they “know why we’re here.”
“I want to see them play with heart — like we always do. That’s our Valkyries team,” Ycoy-Walton said. “No matter the outcome, we’re always gonna be proud.”
Back in the Bay, hundreds of fans flocked to an Oakland block party to show their love during the game.
Madison Huynh said the “best team in the world” took better care of the ball this game.
“It looks like we’re the team we’re supposed to be,” Huynh said.
It will be a first and historic victory for either team that takes away the 2026 WNBA championship title. The Dream has not made it to the WNBA finals since 2013, when they lost to the Minnesota Lynx.
The Valkyries are only in their second season after launching in 2025. The team made it to the playoffs in their inaugural season, but the Lynx knocked them out in the first round.
On Wednesday, Game 3 was close at halftime, but the Dream ran away with the lead by the end of the fourth quarter.
“This game they wanted it more than us and that’s not who we are, that’s not who we’ve been and that’s not how we got here,” said shooting guard Tiffany Hayes in the postgame conference.
Williams said the team was, “undisciplined on defense.”
Emotions were high for Valkyries fans who traveled across the country for the Wednesday night away game. They were disappointed and frustrated, but overall optimistic that the team could still come back and prevail.
“I mean, I’m a little bummed to lose, but I believe in us,” said Hill Winans, who was among the Valkyries diehards to attend Game 4 in Atlanta this week. “We just need to play better defense and better basketball in general. But we can do it, we’ve been doing it all season.”
Golden State super fans were loud but far outnumbered for Game 3 in State Farm Arena, which was completely sold out and a sea of blue on Wednesday. But even more fans are traveling to root for the Valkyries on Saturday for Game 4.
Ott flew from Oakland to Atlanta on Friday night for a quick turnaround trip just to cheer on his favorite team.
“We’re going to support this team no matter what,” Ott said.
Coach Natalie Nakase had confidence even before Game 4 that her team could still come back and win it today.
“After times when we’ve been punched, we know how to come back,” Nakase said in Wednesday’s postgame conference. “What’s good is that usually we come back even tighter.”
Game 5 will be played at Chase Center on Monday, Oct. 26 at 5 p.m.
KQED’s Christopher Alam contributed to this report.