Valkyries sweep defending champion Aces to make WNBA Finals - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Kayla Thornton scored 18 points and the second-year Golden State Valkyries became the quickest expansion team to reach the WNBA Finals, sweeping the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in overtime Friday night in Game 3.

The second-seeded Valkyries will have home-court advantage and will host No. 4 seed Atlanta beginning Oct. 17. The Dream swept New York earlier in the night, and now teams are 22-0 in playoff history when leading a series 2-0.

The Valkyries opened as -125 favorites to win the title at DraftKings sportsbook.

Las Vegas, which was seeded third, had won three of the past four championships.

Gabby Williams added 16 points for the Valkyries, including eight in overtime. Former Aces Kiah Stokes and Tiffany Hayes each had 11 points, and Stokes also grabbed 10 rebounds.

A'ja Wilson, honored before the game for winning an unprecedented fifth MVP, scored 21 points, but on 6-for-19 shooting for the Aces. She also had 10 rebounds, joining DeWanna Bonner as the only players with 1,300 points and 600 rebounds in the postseason.

Jackie Young added 18 points and Chelsea Gray 17.

A 17-point run bolted Golden State past the Aces for a 53-47 lead. Las Vegas closed within a point by the end of the third quarter.

The Aces led by six points late in the game before the Valkyries evened the score when Williams stole the ball from Wilson and Thornton finished with a transition layup to make it 69-69 with 1:50 left.

Golden State then took the lead on Veronica Burton's 9-foot floater with 1:12 remaining. The Aces tied the score on Gray's inbound pass to Young with 27 seconds left to force overtime.

The extra period belonged completely to the Valkyries, who outscored the Aces 16-6.

The Associated Press contributed to