WNBA Finals Game 5: Golden State 64, Atlanta 55
By the Numbers
- The Valkyries drew 18,064 fans on Monday night for the 52nd consecutive sellout dating back to last season. Golden State has sold out every regular and post season game in the team’s history.
- Kiah Stokes had 13 points, eight rebounds (all on the defensive end) and three blocks, eclipsing 50 career postseason blocks.
- Stokes is one of 13 players all time with at least 300 rebounds and 50 blocks in the postseason, and is now 16th on the all-time postseason blocks list.
- Stokes has posted three-or-more blocks in six straight postseason games, tied for the longest streak in WNBA history.
- Veronica Burton tallied 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, which ties Diana Taurasi (2009) as the most blocks by a guard in a WNBA Finals game.
- Cecilia Zandalasini added 12 points on 5-10 (50 percent) shooting and was a game-best +9.
- Tiffany Hayes scored 12 points, her fourth straight game in double figures.
- The Valkyries held the Dream to just 22 points in the first half, Atlanta’s lowest-scoring postseason half ever.
- Golden State has limited the Dream to a combined 10-49 (20.4 percent) from three-point range these past two games, as well as double digit turnovers in games four (18) and five (17).
- Dream forward Angel Reese was held to a postseason-low seven points, and just two points in the second half.
- The 55 points scored by Atlanta are the fewest allowed in a WNBA Finals game since 2021.
- The Valkyries now have a WNBA-record 37 blocks in the Finals. Golden State’s 7.4 blocks per game is currently the third best in WNBA Finals history.
Quotes
HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:
ON KIAH STOKES:
“All her hard work is paying off. Now you guys get to see Kiah Stokes at her best, in which she's bringing her best version of herself. It's in the finals. She's been here many times, and so it's like nothing new. She's used to long playoff runs, so that's why consistency [is the theme] with Kiah. That's kind of been her game, like nothing rattles her. I think when you have a player like a star like Kiah who doesn't feed into wanting attention, then it just keeps her laser focused because every day is the same. Every day her habits are the same. She takes over. She has a smile on her face. She studies the game plan. She's always there, even with the highs and lows of the game. She just stays really composed.”
ON VERONICA BURTON’S STRENGTH AND LEADERSHIP:
“I think she's the best point guard right now in the league. That amount of minutes [75 minutes the past two games], and just having two turnovers…She is the best point guard in the league. It's that grittiness. It's that leadership. It's that toughness. It's diving on the floor, getting knocked down, getting back up. That's another way that you could show being the best point guard… Two turnovers in 75 minutes. I think even her blocks today. She had four blocks… and then she got eight rebounds. That to me is her resilience. She just took another step today, and she leveled up for sure.”
ON GOLDEN STATE’S CONTINUED GROWTH AS A TEAM:
“We do believe and we do stand on defense. When we know that could be raised to another level, they [the Valkyries] want to know the answers. They're going to ask in film sessions, what are the answers? How can we do better? Let's do it better together. I think the coolest thing was that communication. Even [in] the timeouts, they're talking about how they've made adjustments…The way they're communicating, it's with conviction. It's with confidence, and you can see that when we're confident coming out of these huddles, we know how to hit stops, and I think that's really cool.”
GOLDEN STATE CENTER KIAH STOKES GUARD VERONICA BURTON
ON STOKES’ RELIABILITY ON THE DEFENSIVE END:
Burton: “It's very nice to have Kiah [Stokes] in my back line…It’s incredible. Seriously, what she does on a daily basis, and she asks for nothing in return. She's one of the most humble people I've ever met, honestly, and we're not here without Kiah…It's more than just defense. I know everyone wants to talk about defense with Kiah, but it's offense too, and she contributes on both sides of the ball.”
ON EMBRACING MATCHUPS WITH THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE LEAGUE:
Stokes: “I love it. You know I want to win, and to win, I want to beat the best. And these are some of the best players in the league, especially this series…I just take the challenge. We're not done yet, but I know I can always do better. But it's definitely not a single [player]. I think our whole team, they rely on me. They give me energy. They give me confidence.”
ON WHAT FUELED BURTON’S DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE:
Burton: “It is the team and the confidence that they pour into me. I really feel like it's so hard to perform if you don't feel like the people have your back around you, and it's so easy to perform when you feel like they have your back, and that's what it is here. It is so much love, and just so much, like, energy poured into you that you just feel invincible almost. And I know we're not, and I know I'm not, but like at the end of the day, that's the mindset… You're able to do incredible things when you have people around you that support you, and that's what I felt. And so you just want to keep going. You want to run through a brick wall when you love the people you're around.”
ON WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO WIN ON THURSDAY:
Stokes: “It doesn't matter what time it is. At the end of the day, we just need 94 feet, two hoops, and each other. And like she [Veronica Burton] said, it's a closeout game. Atlanta is a great team, and we don't want to give them basically any life. So as much as we love Ballhalla, we don't want to come back here. So we need to go in with the mentality that we have to win. It's do or die.”
Up Next: Golden State looks to close out the WNBA Finals in six as they hit the road to face the Atlanta Dream on Thursday, October 29 at 9:30 a.m. PT and airing on USA, Peacock, E!, SYFY, 95.7 The Game, ESPN 1320 and the Audacy App.
WNBA Finals: Valkyries 64, Dream 55
WNBA Finals: Valkyries 64, Dream 55
