The Golden State Valkyries won the WNBA championship on Halloween night. They beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 at Chase Center on Saturday, Oct. 31, and took the title in only their second season. It was the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history. The league switched from a five-game to a seven-game Finals last year, CBS San Francisco reported.

How it happened

The Valkyries started fast. Mission Local reported that Atlanta didn't score for the first five minutes and Golden State led 14-12 after the first quarter. The Dream then took over and led 30-24 at halftime. NBC Bay Area noted that the team leading at the half had won each of the first six games.

Gabby Williams changed that. She scored her team's final 11 points of the third quarter, according to NBC Bay Area, including three straight 3-pointers, and finished with 30 points, four blocks and three steals. After Rhyne Howard tied the game at 57 with 2:41 left, Williams answered with another 3. Allisha Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds left, but Veronica Burton then grabbed a jump ball and made two free throws with 5.1 seconds to go. Kiah Stokes had 13 rebounds.

For Atlanta, Jordin Canada scored 18 points and Gray had 16. Angel Reese finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. The Dream are now winless in four Finals appearances, CBS reported.

The lineup change

Coach Natalie Nakase changed her starting lineup after the Valkyries fell behind 2-1 in the series. She started Kaila Charles and Tiffany Hayes and moved Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini to the bench. We covered that switch in our Game 6 preview. Hayes, 37, scored 11 points in Game 7.

A fast climb

The Valkyries went 23-21 in their first season and lost in the first round, CBS reported. This year they went 32-12 this year and beat Dallas and Las Vegas to reach the Finals. Owner Joe Lacob had guaranteed a title within five years. "All we heard last year was we don't have no stars. We don't have no talent," Williams said. "We got good people. We got winners."

The team will celebrate with a parade in San Francisco on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Here is what to know about the parade.