SAN FRANCISCO — Every time it felt like the Golden State Valkyries were inching back in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream on Monday night, something would go wrong. Usually, a lost ball, or a bad pass, or someone just lost control.
It was uncharacteristic in every sense.
Golden State committed 19 turnovers (14 of them Dream steals) and Atlanta took advantage with 19 fast-break points in a 79-65 win that sends the series to Atlanta 1-1. The Dream, who are a better offensive team in transition, flourished with the Valkyries’ struggles to handle the ball.
“It’s controllable,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “I thought they did a great job sprinting back, getting into the gaps, getting into driving lanes. Credit to them on their effort, their hustle, their fight. I thought they did an excellent job getting into those lanes, which created the turnovers.”
Dream forward Rhyne Howard broke a WNBA Finals record with her six steals.
“Boy, did she have an impact on the defensive side of the ball today,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said. “Like deflections, steals, getting us out in transition, making good decisions with the ball. I mean, you know, she came up huge for us.”
The Valkyries have turned the ball over less than any other team in the WNBA this season, with an average of 11.5 per game in the regular season and 10.3 in the playoffs.
The Dream, though, have been dominant at forcing the ball out of the hands of their opponents this postseason. They have averaged 16.8 forced turnovers per game across the postseason, and while the Valkyries had only 10 in Game 1, they did not have the same ball control on Monday.
“I genuinely feel like (turnovers) dictated the entire game,” said Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton. “when they can get more looks than we did, and then they outhustled us on some plays. They made more energy plays, and that’s what we hang our hats on. So it can’t happen, especially not in the Finals.”
Golden State’s season-high in the regular season was 18 turnovers when they defeated Atlanta on June 26. The 19 on Monday were the most they have had in the regular season or postseason, and the most since they had 22 in a loss to Connecticut in 2025.
They hadn’t committed more than 13 turnovers all postseason before Monday, in their Game 1 semifinals win over Las Vegas.
On Monday, it was the combination of Howard and DeWanna Bonner who ripped it away from the Valkyries. Howard had her record six takeaways despite four fouls in the first half and poor offensive game, while Bonner nabbed four steals despite shooting 2-for-7 on the other end.
“Turnovers was a big one,” said Valkyries center Kiah Stokes. “But you could tell they ramped up their defense.”
And it was pretty much every Valkyrie who struggled to hold onto the ball. Williams had three turnovers while shooting 3-for-15, and Cecilia Zandalasini turned it over three times as well with 1-for-8 shooting. Burton, who has a historically good career assist-to-turnover ratio, committed an uncharacteristic three turnovers.
Every player with more than one minute turned it over at some point, except for Kayla Thornton and Laeticia Amihere.
“They really started to shift into those driving lanes, so then they were there early, trying to create more passes for us,” Nakase said. “When we’re not in the right spots in terms of being able to receive those passes and see the next layer of driving lanes, and that’s where we got a little bit sticky.”
With just 10 assisted baskets, too, the Valkyries weren’t moving the ball effectively on offense nearly enough to justify how much they were losing the ball.
“We were just a little too loose with the ball,” Burton said. “Obviously, that’s what they’re known for, and we’re known for the opposite. … It’s one of the most important things, taking care of (the ball), and so I think just being organized, all being on the same page, and then in fast break, not getting too sped up, being decisive.
“I think we had a lot of times where we were hesitant or we weren’t on the same page, and that’s where it led to turnovers.”
The Valkyries also shot 34.4% and were outrebounded 36-32, but the sheer amount of extra possessions to the Dream were the real killer. Atlanta didn’t have an epic shooting game itself (33.9% from the floor). But between how many extra chances they got and 35 free throws, the Valkyries handed the Dream Game 2.
With the series shifting to Atlanta, Nakase said she wants to see her team stay composed and keep their spacing even when the Dream switch into their driving and passing lanes.
“The hustle is the turnovers,” Nakase said. “In order for you to get turnovers and have to kind of out hustle you to create the turnovers, right? So they’re trying to obviously cut off our driving lanes, be there in the gaps. Making us make different decisions that we normally are used to. So, credit to them.”