It only seems fitting. In the 30th season of the WNBA, which has been as dramatic and thrilling as any, the championship had to come down to the wire.
And it will. The Atlanta Dream kept their season alive on Thursday, beating the Golden State Valkyies 80-69 in a game that was not nearly as close as the score suggests. With the victory, the Dream forced something the WNBA has never seen before: Game 7 (this is only the second year since they moved to a best-of-seven format for the Finals).
It was clear
from the get-go that this was Atlanta’s game to win, and it wasn’t until the final minutes of the fourth quarter that Golden State ever really tried to say otherwise. The Valkyries did score the first points, on a bucket by Veronica Burton, but then it was all Atlanta. The Dream’s defense was utterly suffocating, and Golden State had just five points halfway through the opening quarter, and had yet to attempt a shot from beyond the arc.
The Valkyries were having a hard time dribbling and passing, were getting no good looks, and were hopeless on the tough looks that the did get. Meanwhile, after a slightly slow start, the Dream were finding buckets easy to come by. The combination was disastrous: Golden State missed seven consecutive shots, with a few turnovers thrown in there, and during that time the Dream scored 13 unanswered points.
Just like that, it was a 19-5 advantage for Atlanta, and the State Farm Arena was positively popping. All of the pace and all of the energy was in the Dream’s favor, and Golden State wasn’t able to touch it until they brought in Cecelia Zandalasini off the bench, where she provided a little bit of a spark.
But the damage was done. After the first quarter, Allisha Gray had as many points (eight) as the entire Valkyries’ starting lineup, while Atlanta had drained seven threes. The Dream led 32-15, having become the first team in the history of the Valkyries’ franchise to score 30 or more first-quarter points against Golden State’s usually superb defense.
The first points of the second quarter came on a three by Rhyne Howard, who was having quqite a game at that point, and it gave Atlanta a 20-point lead. It felt like the Valkyries had hit rock bottom, but unfortunately for everyone (except the Dream and their fans), that was not the case. The only thing that Golden State was doing well in the quarter was playing aggressively and drawing fouls, but even those were occurring on the folor, rather than in the act of shooting.
Halfway through the second quarter, the Valks had netted just four points, Atlanta stretched the lead to 44-19 as every single thing went their way. Golden State was limping to the first-half finish line, and even after ending the half on a 5-0 run, they still trailed 46-26 at the break. They were going to need a second-half miracle if they wanted to spend the day celebrating, rather than preparing.
That second-half miracle never came. Howard once again opened the scoring with a three, setting the tone. It did prove to be a much better quarter for the Valkyries, as their defense started to play better and Atlanta, after seemingly being unable to miss in the first half, came back to earth.
But Golden State left way too much on the table. They were still struggling to get good looks, and on the rare occasions that they did, they missed them more often than not. It was an appalling number of layups and clean looks in the paint that the Valkyries missed, and with every bunny that rolled off the rim, it became more and more apparent that this simply wasn’t Golden State’s day or game. Still, thanks to the improved defense and aggression on the offensive glass, the Valks cut into the lead, and entered the fourth with a little bit of momentum, trailing 63-47.
But a 16-point deficit is hard to overcome in any game, let alone in a series dictated by defense. Golden State’s momentum was evaporated by a Gray three to open the fourth, and it was an uphill battle from there. As has been the case all series long, one team had momentum, the other team would try to steal it, and the first team would respond. And that was the case for much of the fourth quarter: with a sense of desperation, the Valkyries started to make things happen, but Atlanta always had a rebuttal, with Gray, Howard, and Angel Reese taking turns making momentum-restoring plays.
Just shy of the halfway mark of the final quarter, Atlanta went on a burst and it felt like it ended the game. Golden State had cored a few buckets, but Gray and Reese responded with threes, pushing the lead back to 19 points with less than six minutes remaining. If the Valkyries were going to make a run, it had to happen immediately.
And then they did. Gabby Williams, who had been so quiet for much of the game, completely took over, and started carrying Golden State. They never quite got back into it, but they sure made things interesting. Behind two-way excellence from Williams — who scored 12 Valkyries points in a row — Golden State burst out a 14-3 run, which made it an eight-point game with 1:15 remaining, and brought a worried hush over the arena.
As always, though, the Dream had an answer, this time with a Gray triple with 56 seconds remaining, which effectively ended the game.
Still, the closing sequence was important. As Golden State looks ahead to Game 7 at Ballhalla, they do so having figured some things out on offense. It looked like Atlanta had a chance to crush the Valkyries’ spirit, but instead, Golden State made things tense and exciting, and sent a strong reminder that they have some tricks up their sleeves.
But on this day, it wasn’t enough. Williams led the Valkyries with 26 points, though she shot just 8-for-22. Tiffany Hayes quietly had an excellent game, with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, but the rest of the team combined for just 28 points on 8-for-38 shooting. The Dream, meanwhile, had no shortage of star performances: Gray had an extremely efficient 23 points, while Howard had an equally efficient 21 points, and Reese ended with 15 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists.
Game 7 is Saturday night at 5:00 p.m. on USA Network and Peacock. If it’s anything like the rest of this season and series, it figures to be must-see TV.
