SAN FRANCISCO — Ballhalla has always been a fortress for the Golden State Valkyries to defend. But never quite like they defended on Monday at Chase Center. In a pivotal Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, the Valkyries shut down the Atlanta Dream's offense in a 64-55 win. It was the Dream’s lowest scoring total by nine points this season – their previous low came against the Valkyries two days prior ...

Golden State Valkyries' Veronica Burton blocks a shot against Atlanta Dream's Naz Hillmon in the second quarter of Game 5 of the WNBA Finals at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

SAN FRANCISCO — Ballhalla has always been a fortress for the Golden State Valkyries to defend. But never quite like they defended on Monday at Chase Center.

In a pivotal Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, the Valkyries shut down the Atlanta Dream's offense in a 64-55 win. It was the Dream’s lowest scoring total by nine points this season – their previous low came against the Valkyries two days prior in Game 4.

Kiah Stokes and Veronica Burton co-led the Valkyries with 13 points, and Stokes added eight rebounds while playing her usual stellar defense on Angel Reese. Reese finished with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field.

Tiffany Hayes scored 12 points in her second straight start and Cecilia Zandalasini had 12 after coming off the bench as Golden State maintained its tweaked starting lineup from Game 4.

Rhyne Howard had 20 points to lead the Dream. Jordin Canada added 12 and Allisha Gray scored 10.

Atlanta’s output was the lowest by a team in the Finals since 2021, and now Golden State is now one win away from winning the WNBA championship in its second season.

Game 6 will be played at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Thursday. The game time was moved from 8 p.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. due to a conflict with an Atlanta Hawks game scheduled that same day.

The Valkyries stretched their lead to 12 points with a 10-2 run in the first half of the fourth quarter and controlled the rest of the game from there. It began with a three-point play from Gabby Williams, who had been bottled up much of the night, and included a 3-pointer from Stokes that set the crowd ablaze.

In a perfect encapsulation of the night’s action, the large center scoreboard in the arena even went out with under a minute to play. This was simply not the night for offense.

But the Valkyries couldn’t have cared less.

“That’s just been our staple all season,” Stokes said of the defensive performance in her on-court interview before the fans chanted M-V-P for her.

Veronica Burton drove the length of the court in the final seconds of the third quarter, making a right-handed layup to stretch the Valkyries’ lead to 46-40 entering the fourth.

Atlanta led 14-13 after a quarter as both teams started slow offensively in keeping with the overall trend of the series. Reese had limited involvement early but still had five points by the end of the period despite sitting for four minutes with two fouls.

She was loudly booed by the Golden State fans whenever she touched the ball, and particularly when she caught Kayla Thornton with an elbow on a drive in the second quarter. Thornton stayed down as Reese was called for a foul, then got up under her own power. After play resumed, Thornton drilled a 3-pointer on the Valkyries’ next possession, bringing the crowd to a roar.

Reese also knocked Burton to the ground in the first half, prompting an animated reaction during a break in the action as Burton confronted the officials about the no-call.

The Valkyries limited possessions early in the game, often pulling the ball out during fast-break opportunities in transition. The teams combined for 36 field-goal attempts in the first quarter.

The Valkyries took a 25-22 lead into the break.

Golden State and Atlanta shot a combined 26% in the first half. The Valkyries slowed the tempo in an effort to negate the Dream’s paint points. Golden State had success with a slower tempo in Game 4, outscoring Atlanta in the paint even after finishing the regular season last in the league in paint points.

Burton led all scorers with nine points at the half, and Rhyne Howard led Atlanta with six. Williams had just two and didn’t score her next bucket until late in the third quarter. Where Williams struggled in a game dominated by defense, Cecilia Zandalasini found some success, scoring five points in the final 4:24 of the third quarter to help keep Golden State ahead.

Golden State evened the series with a 67-62 win in Atlanta on Saturday, taking back home-court advantage in the series after splitting Games 1 and 2 at Chase Center.

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