ATLANTA — The WNBA will have its first Game 7 in Finals history.
The Atlanta Dream defeated the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 and the series will shift to San Francisco for the clincher on Saturday, Oct. 31. Game 7 will be played at 8 p.m. ET at the Chase Center (8 p.m. ET, USA/Peacock)
Allisha Gray led the Dream 23 points including five 3-pointers. Rhyne Howard, who had been in a shooting slump, scored 21 with four 3-pointers. Atlanta had 13 3s in the game.
"I told them that (expletive) was coming," Reese, who had 15 points and 14 rebounds, said of Gray and Howard. "Like it don't rain forever, and they’re great shooters. They put the work in, and I'm just so proud of them. They lead this way. Rhyne and Allisha are both MVP-caliber players,
All-Star players."
Gabby Williams had 26 points and Tiffany Hayes 15 points for the Valkyries, who will host Game 7 at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Saturday (8 p.m. ET USA/Peacock).
Here are the winners and losers from Game 6 of the WNBA Finals.
Winners
Dream 3-point shooting
When the Dream unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers in the first quarter, it was a sign they would be firing on all cylinders. Atlanta shot 6-of-8 from deep in the opening frame, matching its 3-pointer total from all of Game 5. That helped set the tone for the rest of Game 6.
The Dream finished the game shooting 43.3% behind the arc with 13 triples, tied for the most 3-pointers made by a team facing elimination in WNBA Finals history. Five of those 3-pointers came from Allisha Gray and four more came from Rhyne Howard. Even Angel Reese got in on the action with a pair of 3-pointers, including a dagger late in the fourth quarter that put the Dream up 19 points. The Dream are 16-0 this season when Reese hits a 3.
WNBA Finals first Game 7
The best words in sports are "Game 7" and the WNBA gets to experience it for the first time in league history. There's likely not a better way to conclude the WNBA's 30th anniversary season than with a Game 7 featuring two teams — the Valkyries and Dream — seeking their first championship.
The 2026 WNBA Finals have been a marquee, must-see series and a record number of people are turning their attention to what's going on in the W.
Things are going to get spooky as Game 7 falls on Halloween. The Golden State Valkyries host the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center in San Francisco on Oct. 31. Tipoff is at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.
Dream guard Allisha Gray
The Golden State Valkyries went on a 14-3 run to cut a deficit that ballooned to as many as 25 points to eight points with 1:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Then Allisha Gray stepped up and delivered a 22-foot dagger with 56 seconds remaining to end the Valkyries' run and ice the game to force a Game 7.
“My plan was to come out and be aggressive from the jump,” said Gray, who finished with a team-high 23 points — including five 3s — six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals, doing a little bit of everything in the win. “My teammates were really on me to just play my game and having my back.”
Gray admitted she isn’t feeling 100% from undergoing a minor procedure on her left hand earlier this month, but she stepped up with Atlanta’s dream of a WNBA title at stake.
Angel Reese said “you can’t tell” that Gray is nursing an injury based on her clutch performance.
“(Allisha Gray) Lish does what Lish does. And honestly, she's never made an excuse for anything,” Reese said. “She comes out every day and she puts in the work and I'm just really proud of her.”
Valkyries' Gabby Williams finds offensive spark
Despite the loss, Valkyries guard Gabby Williams found the light at end of the tunnel following an off night during Golden State's Game 5 win, where she scored nine points on 3-of-14 shooting.
Williams scored 26 points on 8-of-22 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in their Game 6 loss. She's connected on three 3-point field goals. Defensively, Williams had three steals and a block. It was a promising response as she got to see baskets go in, especially in the second and third quarter, reaffirming confidence going into Game 7.
Through six games in the WNBA Finals, Williams has averaged 17.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game shooting 30.8% field goals.
Losers
Valkyries’ shooting woes
Golden State finished the regular season with a league-high 10.4 made 3-pointers per game, but the deep shots weren’t falling for the Valkyries on Thursday. Neither were the layups, as Golden State missed over seven shots at the rim in Game 6’s loss.
The Valkyries shot 22-of-70 (31%) from the field and 7-of-27 (26%) from the 3-point line, compared to the Dream shooting 27-of-62 from the field (44%) and 13-of-30 (43%) from deep.
Low-scoring defensive battles have become the norm in this series between the defensive heavyweights, but the Valkyries must find some consistent offensive production if they want to hoist their first title in franchise history.
Gabby Williams scored 22 of her 26 points in the second half. Tiffany Hayes added 15 points. They were the only Golden State players in double digits.
Dream bench
For the second game in a row, Atlanta’s bench scored four points against Golden State. While the Dream’s starters have played well, they’ve lacked scoring contributions from their bench. None of Atlanta’s reserves are averaging more than eight points per game.
It’s not exactly off-brand for the Dream, who averaged the second-fewest bench points (17.9 per game) of any team in the regular season. But they’ll have to be better to beat the incredibly deep Valkyries, whose bench set a WNBA scoring record this season (35.9 points per game).
Valkyries first quarter
The Golden State Valkyries got punched in the mouth and it took them a second to recover. Their largest lead of the game was the opening field goal, a step back jumper from Veronica Burton at 9:19 of the first quarter. From there it was all Atlanta, all the time ripping a 19-3 run in the next five minutes of the game. Golden State could not get a bucket and the Dream outscored Golden State in the first 32-15.
"They scored 32 points in the first quarter. Like that's unacceptable on our end," Burton said after the Game 6 loss. "So just got to play better defense. Obviously, they were hitting good shots and getting good looks. I think we were spread out a little bit, but we cleaned it up in the other quarters defensively. But can't let that happen right out the gate. There needs to be a sense of urgency. It's the WNBA Finals."
The Valkyries played the rest of the game from behind. They trailed aby 20 at halftime but made improvements defensively, allowing 14 points in the second quarter. It was Golden State's offense that had a tough time getting off the ground.
Outside of the first quarter, the Valkyries outscored the Dream, 54-48.
"I've been sitting here and yeah I think my body language is bad, like at the end of the day, we feel good," Burton said. "Yes, we lost. It was a bad game for us. We had a terrible first quarter. But yeah, we cleaned it up. We found a way, we didn't quit. Games ... 2 and 3 were ugly. We quit, we looked bad, and we didn't quit in this one."
In the second half, Golden State held Atlanta to 34 points. That fight and momentum shift is something the Valkyries hope to build on going into Game 7 at home in Ballhalla.
"We were still in the game," Burton added. "Yeah, we didn't give ourselves a good position to start out the game, but we feel good and there's a lot to take away from the second, third and 4th quarter. Our defense (was) a little bit more like us, and so we'll watch that, see the adjustments that they made, see where we can adjust. I think we're in a good spot."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA Finals Game 6 winners and losers include Allisha Gray from 3, Valkyries' slow start
