A WNBA Finals run can test a team’s identity as much as their talent, and the Golden State Valkyries are finding that out the hard way. After dropping a second consecutive game against the Atlanta Dream, Gabby Williams and Tiffany Hayes wasted no time assessing what went wrong, and their blunt admission that Golden State was outworked stood out on a night the team fell short of the standards it has set for itself.

“This game, they wanted it more than us, and that’s not who we are. That’s not who we’ve been. And that’s not how we got here,” Hayes said in the postgame conference.

Additionally, USA Today reporter Megan L. Hall noted on X, “Hayes/Gabby Williams also said Golden State was “undisciplined” with defense/ball security. Hayes said it was “surprising” for them to be “undisciplined” at this point in the season.”

The statements were a striking admission from a team that had entered the Finals in top form. After sweeping the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, Golden State had won Game 1 of the series against Atlanta, holding them to just 64 points and forcing them into 12 turnovers. In Game 3, though, that was turned back around on them.

Atlanta held Golden State to just 71 points on 35% shooting from the field, converting 10 more shots for 97 total points in regulation. They also forced the Valkyries into 17 turnovers, with every member of the starting five recording at least one turnover. Williams led the game in that category, giving the ball up four times. The Dream converted the giveaways into 22 points.

That’s nothing new for the Dream, who previously converted 19 Valkyries turnovers into 24 points in Game 2 of the series.

Williams noted after the game how the Valkyries seemingly lost their identity.

“Sometimes shots don’t fall,” she said. “We don’t like to make it about offense. They scored 97. We have no chance. We have to go back to our defense and that will get our offense going.”

Williams has had an especially difficult series when it comes to her efficiency, combining for 29% on 55 shots over the series.

Hayes and Williams led the Valkyries in scoring, logging 14 and 15 points, respectively, but struggled with efficiency, combining for 11 shots converted out of 31 attempts.

Hayes also noted that whatever changes the team needs to make have to be done soon, or it might end up being too late.

“We know we are going to make mistakes,” she said. “It’s a series for a reason. We all talked together after the game and let each other know it’s a series for a reason. We can adjust, but we have to do it now and stay together to do it.”

Their two losses in this series also mark the first time since August 21 that they have lost two in a row, losing to the Minnesota Lynx and the Chicago Sky back then.

One notable adjustment that head coach Natalie Nakase made in Game 3 was increasing the playing time for reigning Sixth Player of the Year Janelle Salaun. Salaun, who logged nine minutes combined in the first two games, logged 12 minutes and was a major spark, scoring 13 points on 5-for-7 from the field, hitting three three-pointers. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on her as a potential difference-maker as the series continues.

The Valkyries now face a challenge beyond just finding good shots. They need to protect the ball, communicate effectively, and recover the discipline that made them the best defense in the league and carried them to the WNBA Finals.

With Game 4 quickly approaching, Golden State has an opportunity to respond, but it needs to show that Game 3 was an exception instead of a defining moment in their Finals run. If they don’t, the Dream’s already growing control over the series will prove difficult to reverse.