Golden State Valkyries level the WNBA Finals by beating the Atlanta Dream

The Valkyries level the series

The Golden State Valkyries won on the road against the Atlanta Dream 67:62 in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday, leveling the best-of-five series at 2:2, AFP reports. Gabby Williams led the winners with 17 points, helped by Tiffany Hayes and Veronica Burton with 13 points each, while Cecilia Zandalasini added 10 points off the bench.

Defense stopped Reese

The key factor was Golden State's defense: the team contained Atlanta's leader Angel Reese, who scored just 8 points on 2-of-12 shooting. Before that, Reese had opened the series with three straight double-doubles. Valkyries guard Kiah Stokes, who guarded Reese, said: 'She has been the head of their snake all series. So my job was to make every one of her shots at the rim difficult.' According to her, as the team's best defensive big, she had to take on that challenge.

Reaction and what's next

Golden State forward Tiffany Hayes attributed the success to the team's increased physicality after two lopsided losses in a row in Games 2 and 3. 'We just needed more fight, more character,' she said. 'We still made mistakes, but in the end we played tough and got the win.' The series returns to San Francisco, where Game 5 will be played on Monday.

What the result means

The win brought the intrigue back to the series: after two straight losses, the Valkyries restored the balance and gained home-court advantage for Game 5 in San Francisco. For fans, this means that a Finals that initially seemed to be going Atlanta's way thanks to Reese's play has now effectively turned into a battle for three wins out of the five remaining games. The key storyline of the upcoming games will be the continuation of Golden State's defense against the Dream's leader.