The WNBA Finals are headed to a decisive Game 7 on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET in San Francisco following a commanding 80-69 victory by the Atlanta Dream over the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday. The win at State Farm Arena pushed the series to the limit after a high-energy performance from the home team.
Atlanta controlled the pace early, establishing the largest first-quarter lead in WNBA Finals history. Fueled by efficient shooting, the Dream went 11-15 from the floor in the opening period, including six 3-pointers, to pull ahead by 17 points. That cushion expanded to as many as 25 during the second quarter before the Valkyries began a slow recovery to trim the deficit to 46-26 by halftime. Building the biggest first-quarter lead in WNBA Finals history and controlling things for much of the rest of the game, though things got a bit hairy as Golden State rallied in the fourth quarter, the Dream dominated the Valkyries from the very jump of Game 6. I mean, we didn’t have everybody come out at 12:30 p.m. for no reason. So, we wanted to make sure we ended this right here.”. Going 9-34 from the floor in the half, the lead grew in the second quarter as the Valkyries couldn’t quite find their shooting form.
Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard fueled the offense with 23 points each, while Angel Reese anchored the paint with a double-double consisting of 15 points and 14 rebounds. The physical nature of the game became clear in the second half when a flagrant foul was whistled against Golden State’s Veronica Burton following a hard collision with Howard, though Atlanta maintained its composure to stay in control.
Despite Golden State’s attempts to chip away at the lead, the Dream responded with timely perimeter shooting. After the Valkyries pulled within 13 points in the fourth quarter, consecutive 3-pointers from Gray and Reese pushed the lead back to 19. A late rally by Golden State, led by a surge from Gabby Williams, narrowed the gap to eight points in the final two minutes, but Gray’s corner 3-pointer with approximately one minute remaining ultimately secured the victory. A 13-0 run in the first quarter helped the Dream jump out to a double-digit lead in the opening minutes with Allisha Gray leading the way with eight points in the first seven minutes. The Valkyries had cut the Dream’s lead to 16 points with 10 minutes to go in the game, by the end of the third quarter. Bringing State Farm Arena to its collective feet, gray and Angel Reese nailed shots from long range on successive possessions to rebuild the Dream’s lead to 19. Who narrowed the lead to 12 with under three minutes to go, but that wasn’t enough to fully put away the Valkyries. And then Atlanta got a crucial stop on the next possession, the Dream rebuilt the lead to 11 after Gray’s corner 3-pointer dropped with about a minute to go. The Valkyries decided to allow the clock to run down and the Dream could exhale.
The midday tip-off did not impact the intensity inside the arena, which hosted a capacity crowd. Many fans navigated workplace scheduling conflicts to attend the pivotal matchup. Nyla James, one of the attendees, noted she took paid time off to witness the game, while others described the chance to see the finals in the city as a rare opportunity. The venue hosted the event to ensure a larger capacity than the team’s standard home site. We appreciate the fans’ support on a weekday. Which was reportedly a sellout despite the tip-off happening a tick after 12:40 p.m, the game tipped off to a loud crowd inside State Farm Arena. The game had to be scheduled at the midday slot to ensure the Dream hosted a Finals game at Atlanta’s premier basketball venue rather than their typical home arena outside the city that seats around 3,500. Coy Wire caught up with a couple of Dream fans who made sure they were at the pivotal game instead of being stuck at the office. According to her friend Nailah Perry, also decked out in ATL gear,, She told her boss that “something came up” and that it was a “one-in-a-million” chance to support the team she loves, so she had to be at State Farm Arena.
Reflecting on the team’s approach, Reese emphasized the importance of aggressive starts throughout the series. “Every time we threw the first punch, we won the game,” she told USA Network after the buzzer. She added that the squad remains focused on maintaining a championship mentality heading into the final road game at the Chase Center.
With the victory, the Dream now look toward Saturday’s finale where they hope to finalize their title push. Reese noted that while the group is proud of their performance in Game 6, they recognize the remaining challenge, stating, “The job is not done.” The drama over where Game 6 would be played was quickly forgotten as the Dream started fast. That’s all we needed and we maximized it today.
