The Golden State "Huskies" Capture 2026 WNBA Championship, Joe Fagnano makes NFL Debut

ANOTHER WNBA FINALS CHAMPIONSHIP BELONGS TO THE HUSKIES

For the seventh straight season, at least one former UConn Husky has won a WNBA Championship.

Gabby Williams, Tiffany Hayes and Kaityln Chen all raised the championship trophy for the first time in their careers, while Kiah Stokes reached the mountaintop for a fourth time after the Golden State Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday night. Stokes, a three-time NCAA champion, has entered rarefied air, joining Sue Bird and Maya Moore as the only former Huskies to win four WNBA titles, tied for the most in UConn-WNBA history.

Williams scored a WNBA Finals record 28 of her game-high 30 points in the second half behind 10-of-23 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three and 6-of-6 from the line. She also added three rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks in 38 minutes. Stokes nearly posted a double-double with eight points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in 30 minutes. Hayes knocked in 11 points in 31 minutes, while Chen played just one minute in the second quarter. Williams, Hayes and Stokes combined to score 34 of the Valkyries’ final 36 points, accounting for 34 consecutive points from the middle of the third quarter until 29 seconds remained in the game. Veronica Burton scored the final two points of the game on a pair of free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining. 

Williams was named the WNBA Finals MVP after averaging 21.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game while shooting 38.0% from the field, including 33.0% from three and 90.6% from the free throw line. Williams becomes the fourth different former Husky to win the award and the sixth time overall that a UConn star has been named WNBA Finals MVP. Diana Taurasi (2009, 2014), Maya Moore (2013), Breanna Stewart (2018, 2020).

It took the Dream just over five minutes to score their first points of the contest in part because WIlliams rejected an Angel Reese layup and Stokes swatted away a Jordin Canada shot away. The four-time WNBA Champion was the first former Husky to score following a Hayes missed jump shot, Stokes grabbed the offensive rebound and converted the layup for a 6-0 lead. Later, Hayes used a Stokes screen to receive a pass and then make her own layup for a 10-7 Golden State lead.

Williams and Hayes accounted for eight Valkyrie points in the second quarter as the Dream took a 29-24 halftime lead. The Golden State crowd started to feel anxious as their team trailed by as many as nine points in the third quarter. Midway through the third period, the Valkyries trimmed their deficit to five before Williams took over. The two-time national champion rattled off a WNBA Finals record 15 consecutive points, highlighted by three straight three-pointers in a 58-second span, two of them assisted by Stokes. Then she knocked down a contested turnaround jumper to give Golden State the lead 45-44, its first lead since the first quarter.

The opening basket of the fourth quarter went to Williams to complete her 15 straight point run. Hayes took her defender off the dribble, then connected on a turnaround jumper for a 53-49 Golden State lead with 6:12 remaining. A few minutes later, Williams sparked another run, scoring nine consecutive points while breaking two ties. She first converted a layup over Reese before knocking down a long-range three-pointer to give the Valkyries a 60-57 lead with 2:18 to play. After Williams converted two free throws, Stokes grabbed another offensive rebound off a Williams miss and scored on a putback layup to extend the Valkyries’ lead to 64-57 with 53.7 seconds left. Hayes made two free throws with 29 seconds remaining to push the lead back to seven, 66-57.

It’s Hayes’ first WNBA championship in 14 seasons. After announcing her retirement in December 2023, she decided to return in May 2024, signing with the Las Vegas Aces. Hayes previously won back-to-back NCAA titles at UConn in 2009 and 2010. Williams, who also captured consecutive national championships in 2015 and 2016, earned the first WNBA title of her eight-year career. Chen, a 2025 national champion with UConn, secured her first WNBA Finals victory in her second season in the league. 

Updating the UConn-WNBA Finals Record Books

• A former Husky has been part of the championship-winning team in 21 of the 30 WNBA Finals (70.0%).
• 21 different former Huskies have at least one WNBA Finals ring
• UConn’s record in the WNBA Finals is 38-18 (.679 winning percentage)

JOE FAGNANO MAKES NFL DEBUT, GOES HEAD-TO-HEAD AGAINST JOSH ALLEN

Heading into Sunday’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills, the former Husky star quarterback was listed as the Baltimore Ravens’ third-string/emergency quarterback. However, after Lamar Jackson injured his thumb on the opening play and Tyler Huntley later suffered a toe injury, Fagnano was called into action in the second quarter.

It certainly put Fagnano in a tough spot as he went 10-21 for 91 yards, including one interception, one fumble and was sacked three times. Fagnano started off hot, completing the first two passes of his NFL career, first to Josh Cuevas for a 15-yard completion. Then on the next play a 13-yard strike to Ja’Kobi Lane. However, the drive stalled there as Fagnano was sacked then threw two straight incompletions, followed by Tyler Bass missing a 34-yard field goal attempt. Later in the quarter, Fagnano was trying to find Zay Flowers down field, but the pass was deflected and intercepted by Davison Igbinosun. 

Fagnano had a strong opening drive to the second half as he threw a dart to Rashod Batemen for 22 yards on 3rd and 6. This drive eventually led to a 26-yard field goal by Bass to cut the Ravens’ deficit to 16-10. However, the Bills scored three touchdowns over their next four drives and eventually went onto win the game 36-10.

Jackson has already been placed on injured reserve and could miss the rest of the season. The Ravens believe Huntley is suffering from a turf toe injury and are uncertain how much time he could miss. Even Fagnano admitted he wasn’t feeling 100% after the game due to an undisclosed injury. 

It’s a quick turnaround for the 4-4 Ravens, who have now lost three games in a row as they will host the Jacksonville Jaguars this upcoming Thursday night in a standalone nationally televised game on Amazon Prime. It remains to be seen who will be the Ravens starting quarterback in that game. Husky Nation is hoping Fagnano gets a chance to start his first career NFL game.

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