Valkyries vs Dream: Atlanta Wins Game 6, 80-69, to Force the First Game 7 in WNBA Finals History
The Atlanta Dream are not done. Facing elimination at home, Atlanta beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 on Thursday, tying the WNBA Finals at 3-3 and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 - the first in Finals history - on Saturday in San Francisco.
Let's play seven. The Atlanta Dream kept their season alive Thursday with an 80-69 win over the Golden State Valkyries in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals at a sold-out State Farm Arena, tying the series at three games each. Game 7 is Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern at the Chase Center in San Francisco - the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history, in only the second year of the best-of-seven format.
The game was decided early, exactly where the live file left it. Atlanta led 32-15 after the first quarter and 46-26 at halftime, powered by the three-point line: the Dream made 13 threes in the game, six of them in that opening quarter, a night after shooting 6-of-26 from deep in Game 5. Golden State won both second-half quarters, 21-17 and 22-17, and cut into the lead behind Gabby Williams, but the 20-point halftime hole never closed.
Allisha Gray led Atlanta with 23 points, including five three-pointers. Rhyne Howard, who had been in a shooting slump to start the Finals, scored 21 with four threes. Angel Reese added 15 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, and Jordin Canada scored 10 - four Dream players in double figures. For Golden State, Williams finished with a game-high 26 points and Tiffany Hayes had 15, in front of an announced crowd of 17,099 at the matinee, which tipped at 12:30 p.m. Eastern because of an evening conflict with the Atlanta Hawks at the same arena.
So a Finals that has swung game to game - Golden State led 3-2 and had won two straight to flip a 2-1 deficit - comes down to one night in San Francisco. The Valkyries host it; the Dream arrive with the shooting night that saved their season still warm. One of them lifts the trophy Saturday.
