Dream Rout Valkyries 80-69 in a Lunchtime Game 6 to Force the First Game 7 in WNBA Finals History
Allisha Gray hit five threes and Angel Reese had a double-double as Atlanta led by 25 at half in a 12:30 pm tip forced by the Hawks' schedule. The decider is Saturday in San Francisco.
Friday, October 30, 2026/2 min read
The WNBA Finals will go the distance for the first time in the league's history. Facing elimination on a Thursday lunchtime, the Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 at State Farm Arena to level the series at 3-3 and send it to a Game 7 on Saturday night in San Francisco.
Allisha Gray scored 23 points on 5 of 7 three-point shooting, Rhyne Howard added 21 with four threes, and Angel Reese finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, the Associated Press reported. Gabby Williams led Golden State with 26 points, and Tiffany Hayes had 15 before fouling out in the final minutes.
How did the Dream take control so early?
With a 13-0 run to open the game and a first quarter that ended 32-15. Atlanta made 6 of 8 threes and 11 of 15 shots in the period, Jordin Canada hit two of those threes, and the Valkyries, who had never conceded a 30-point first quarter in their short history, shot 9 of 34 in the first half, the AP said. The halftime score was 46-26 and the lead reached 25, which ESPN said is the largest ever held by a team facing elimination in a Finals game.
Golden State chipped away in the second half. Kaila Charles closed the third quarter with a three to make it 63-47, Williams converted a three-point play in a late push, and the margin fell to 77-66 before Gray's final three ended the comeback. Veronica Burton was called for a flagrant foul on Howard in the third quarter. Atlanta's 13 threes tied the Finals record for a team facing elimination, ESPN said, and Gray said afterwards she was "just locked in."
Why was a Finals game played at 12:30 pm on a Thursday?
Because the Dream do not own the building. Their regular home, Gateway Center Arena, seats about 3,500, so the team moved Finals games to the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena, which belongs to the NBA's Hawks under a different owner. The Hawks hosted Miami on Wednesday and Cleveland on Thursday night, and the league's 22-hour rule between games ruled out shifting Thursday's NBA game to the afternoon, CBS Sports explained. Faced with a Thursday night in the small arena, a Thursday afternoon in the big one, or a Friday that would have pushed Game 7 to 3 November, the WNBA chose the lunchtime tip.
The Dream's owners said in an open letter on Tuesday that they had raised the conflict months earlier and that a midday game was not what they had fought for. The team announced a sellout anyway, and the AP said only scattered seats in the upper level were empty. Arena staff then changed the courts over for the Hawks, who beat the Cavaliers 114-111 that evening, Yahoo Sports noted.
What happens in Game 7?
The deciding game is Saturday 31 October at 8 pm ET at Golden State's home arena in San Francisco, ESPN said. Each team is chasing its first championship. Golden State won Games 4 and 5 by holding Atlanta to 62 and 55 points; the Dream answered with 46 in a half. Reese, who is 16-0 for Atlanta when she makes at least one three, put it simply: when the Dream punch first, they have won every game. Saturday will tell whether that holds on the road.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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