Dieter Kurtenbach: Kiah Stokes, Valkyries shut down Angel Reese, breathe new life into now-even WNBA Finals

Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News on Oct 24, 2026

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Say what you will about the Golden State Valkyries, but you can’t say they don’t have a pulse.

Saturday’s Game 4 of the WNBA Finals wasn’t, strictly by the book, an elimination game.

But did the Valks ever treat it like one.

Lose, and you’re down 3-1, packing your emotional bags and listening as Atlanta talks about parade routes. Win, and you’re back on even footing.

So the Valkyries didn’t just win a basketball game Saturday afternoon; they saved their season and reignited their title hopes.

And contrary to what some will suggest, the 67-62 Golden State win didn’t hinge on tactical alchemy.

Sure, Natalie Nakase tossed out couple tweaks in the starting five and sprinkled in a 2-3 zone on defense, but neither decided this game.

The big difference in Game 4 was that Golden State — total shocker — played like their lives depended on it.

They didn’t just defend; they treated every Dream possession as if Atlanta having the ball was a personal affront.

Golden State forced Atlanta to cough up the ball on 34% of its first-half possessions, building a 42-26 halftime lead in the process, a cushion they would be very happy to have in the second half.

What we saw Saturday wasn’t champagne basketball. But if the Valks can replicate that formula two more times, it just might be.

Here’s the big difference I saw: With a bit more selective help, Golden State center Kiah Stokes had Angel Reese flummoxed in Game 4.

Reese had hijacked this series in Games 2 and 3, playing like an unstoppable wrecking ball with MVP hardware in her future.

Saturday, Reese slammed into the Stokes wall, going 2 for 12 from the floor for eight points and coughing up six turnovers.

Stokes pulled down 16 rebounds and swatted three blocks in 30 ferocious minutes. The Valks are best when they pull down offensive rebounds — extra shots are the perfect antidote to bad shooting — and they posted 13 in the game. Every one of them came with Stokes on the floor, per HoopsJunkie’s data.

Call me absurd, but if this form holds and the Valkyries hoist the trophy, Stokes gets my Finals MVP vote. It’s Andre Iguodala in 2015 all over again.

But wouldn’t a defense-first player be fitting? It’s not as if either team could buy a bucket, much less a 3-pointer on Saturday.

In turn, the Valkyries won this game in the mid-range, gutting out their margin with six points from WNBA no-woman’s land.

In addition: Nakase shortened the bench in Game 4. Veronica Burton played all but 113 seconds. Gabby Williams, overtly laboring on dead legs through the second half, sat for 2 minutes, 34 seconds while gutting out a team-high 17 points.

They went all-out. That’s Valks basketball. Something going wrong? Play harder. Things going right? Play harder. It’s simplistic, but when it works, it’s a force.

Defense. Rebounding. Smothering pressure. And big shots when the building started shaking.

Did Golden State try to choke this game away late?

Unquestionably.

They missed five consecutive shots after Burton’s corner 3-pointer handed them a 64-55 cushion with 4:23 to go.

It was t-i-g-h-t down the stretch.

Yet the defense never blinked.

Reese missed three shots from point-blank range — a combined distance of about 13 feet — inside of 60 frantic seconds to kill Atlanta’s building momentum.

Then Burton stepped into a cold-blooded 12-footer with 34 seconds left to ice it at 66-59.

The formula here isn’t complicated and it hasn’t changed. Reese is the dial for the Dream and this series.

When Reese dominates, as she did in Games 2 and 3, the Dream look unbeatable. When she’s bottled up, Atlanta looks entirely out of ideas. They’re just another good but not great team.

So Golden State dared someone else on Atlanta to beat them Saturday. The Dream answered with blank stares.

Meanwhile, the Dream did the same with Williams, and Tip Hayes delivered the offensive defibrillator shock the Valkyries desperately needed.

Hayes started, but more importantly, she closed.

When things got wobbly in the fourth quarter, Hayes ripped off seven straight points to preserve double-digit breathing room.

Her spark was cold water in a sweltering desert.

So what do we have now?

A brand-new, best-of-three series heading back to Chase Center on Monday.

The Dream showed their hand: they want — no, need — Reese to drag them across the finish line.

The Valkyries threw out “Strength in Numbers” and opted for just strength.

The big adjustments have been made and now the plan for both teams is simple: be the last team standing in the alley when the smoke from the brouhaha clears.

But what a fight it should be.