By admin 
SAN FRANCISCO – When the Phoenix Mercury started chipping away at the Valkyries’ 18-point lead, threatening to turn a dominant night into a late-game nightmare, Golden State had a simple answer.
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Give it to Gabby Williams. Give it to Veronica Burton. Repeat.
In Tuesday’s 87-81 win over the Mercury, Williams and Burton each scored 25 points – the first time the two have scored 20 or more points in the same game – and every critical possession down the stretch ran through one of them.
After leaning on different players to close out recent games, Golden State may have found its closing formula: Trust the two best players on the team.
“Without knowing each other for a long time, I think we knew each other from a distance and we can relate to one another,” Williams said of her relationship with Burton. “We’ve both come up through this league and had to find our way through. … She knows what to say to help motivate me, and I think that’s just helped our relationship and has allowed us to play confidently.”
Williams’ confidence has been unmistakable lately.
She has evolved into one of the more dangerous scoring options in the Western Conference over the last several games, attacking the rim with purpose and expanding her range.
Against Phoenix, she finished 9-of-19 from the floor and hit three of her six shots from the 3-point line. Her 12 paint points were exactly what Golden State lacked in its losses to Minnesota and Las Vegas – a player willing to get to the rim and finish over defenders or get fouled.
“It feels like a huge confidence boost, knowing that my teammates and the staff believe in me in those moments,” Williams said.
Williams’ clutch gene was activated on both ends. After her and-1 layup pushed the Valkyries’ lead to six late in the fourth quarter, she had arguably the biggest play of the night when she intercepted an Alyssa Thomas pass to effectively seal the win.
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“She’s just a really dynamic scorer,” Burton said of Williams. “In big moments, she gets a steal at the most important time of the game. Then she’s also getting clutch buckets down the stretch. I think there’s a steadiness to her, and she’s super reliable.”
Burton, meanwhile, has taken everything she built in her first season with Golden State and sharpened it. The former Northwestern standout is playing at an All-Star level, threading the line between scorer and creator.
On Tuesday, she scored 25 points by relentlessly attacking the rim, making 9 of 11 free throws while playing 37 minutes.
Late in possessions, she either got to the rim herself or created opportunities for teammates, finishing with eight assists.
Though Tuesday’s win wasn’t pretty, the Valkyries looked to have found a reliable late-game blueprint.
Phoenix cut what was once a massive lead to a one-possession game, but the Valkyries never unraveled. Instead, Golden State leaned on the steady hands of Williams and Burton, who repeatedly delivered on both ends when the Mercury threatened to seize momentum.
“I think just being able to figure it out, even when things go wrong and when they hit tough shots, we just stayed together,” Burton said after the win. “I thought our composure took a really big leap tonight, just made winning plays, honestly.”
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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 10:53 AM.