WNBA FINALS: DREAM VS. VALKYRIES

October 29, 2026

Gabby Williams

Veronica Burton

Golden State Valkyries

Game 6: Postgame

Atlanta Dream 80, Golden State Valkyries 69

Q. What do you think kind of happened to start the game? Seems like they punch and you guys kind of didn't really recover until the second half there.

VERONICA BURTON: Yeah, I mean, we talk about it. They scored 32 points in the first quarter. Like that's unacceptable on our end. So just got to play better defense. Obviously they were hitting good shots and getting good looks. I think we were spread out a little bit.

But we cleaned it up in other quarters defensively. But can't let that happen right out of the gate. There needs to be a sense of urgency, it's the WNBA Finals.

Q. For you guys, there was so much talk about the start time of this game, and obviously you had a tough first quarter. Did the game time have any effect and did it wake you guys up?

GABBY WILLIAMS: They played at the same time as us, right? So it's not an excuse. We have to be better.

Q. When we talk about punching first, and Angel mentioned they have won every game where they have punched first. What does the key to that look like?

GABBY WILLIAMS: I think ball pressure, especially. Also, you set the tone with the physicality when you punch first. When you are aggressive at the beginning and you try to be later, that's when fouls start getting called. That's when you're out of position.

I think they did a good job today of setting the tone early. Obviously we didn't. Something to learn from and what's great is we have another chance.

Q. Veronica, even though you were not able to win tonight, you still have Game 7 at home. What is the mindset, knowing that you have your crowd, your fans, and being able to play Game 7 at home?

VERONICA BURTON: We feel good. We feel great. Obviously this is a tough one. We knew Game 6 would be tough but at the same time, it's not just going to be handed to us just because we are at Ballhalla. Like we love Ballhalla. We have the best fans but at the end of the day, it's going to be a dogfight. We understand that. Both teams want it, and so the mindset is a sense of urgency. It is do or die, officially.

We put ourselves in a position where, you know, we gave us this game, like, to fall back on but that shouldn't have been the mentality and it wasn't are.

But now at the end of the day, this is what we worked for and prepared for. So we feel good going into it and we'll watch some film and clean some things up.

Q. What adjustments did you guys make in that second half to challenge the Dream a little bit more, and is there any of that that you can take into Game 7?

GABBY WILLIAMS: Just upped our ball pressure. They were just too comfortable. That's pretty much it.

Q. You mentioned at the beginning, the lack of a sense of urgency. Why do you think that kind of happened?

GABBY WILLIAMS: I think we just answered. Not enough ball pressure. Didn't come ready. Like we just said, they punched first.

Q. Veronica, were there things you could take out of the second half? I know after a game like this, it's maybe hard to look at the positives but there were some positives in terms of how you were able to slow them down a little bit more. Are there things that you can take out of that that are positives going into Game 7, if you will?

VERONICA BURTON: For sure. I think, yeah, I've been sitting here, and I think my body language is bad. At the end of the day, we feel good. Yes, we lost. It was a bad game for us. We had a terrible first quarter.

But yeah, we cleaned it up. We found a way -- we didn't quit. Games 2 and 3 were ugly, we quit and we looked bad. We didn't quit on this one. We were still in the game. Yeah, we didn't give ourselves a good position to start out the game but we feel good.

There's a lot to take away from the second, third and fourth quarter. Our defense, you know, is a little bit more like us, and so we'll watch that, see the adjustments that they made, see where we can adjust, and I think we are in a good spot.

Q. For either of you, seemed like L.A. (Amihere) had some good minutes when she came into the game. What was she able to do that helps you guys come back in those last three quarters?

VERONICA BURTON: Yeah, that was incredible. Her energy, she was ready and she was honestly one of the only people that showed up to play the entire game today. We gave a big shoutout to her.

She's been ready. You hear her in practice. The energy is always there, so it's not a surprise at all. We're really proud of her. She met the moment, and she honestly changed the game for us.

So big props to her.

Q. In these moments when you're talking about you didn't come with the right energy or you just aren't playing at your best, who is commanding the energy of huddles? Who is the loudest voice in trying to reset things in those moments, or is it a collective?

VERONICA BURTON: Yeah, I'd say it's a collective. That's the beauty of our team is we all have a voice and we all come together.

And again, it's not for like necessarily a lack of effort or a lack of awareness. But I think, yeah, both me and Gabby try and speak and try and pour life into one another but it's everyone. You hear L.A. You hear Kaitlyn. You hear -- it's everyone and obviously Coach Nat, Landon, all of them, they all pour into us, and there's a self-accountability and we hold each other accountable, but we definitely have no quiet huddles.

Q. Did the 12:30 start time have any impact on your performance today?

GABBY WILLIAMS: I'm sorry, I think this is like the third time we've answered this question. They played at the same time as us.