Dream stay alive to force Game 7 of WNBA Finals

The season isn’t over yet.

Adjusting to a 12:30 p.m. tipoff and a flight back from the West Coast, the Dream had all the fuel they needed to secure a strong 80-69 win against the Valkyries to force a Game 7.

State Farm Arena was packed and ready to cheer on their Atlanta team for the season’s final home game. Facing elimination, the Dream knew it was win-or-go-home, and they jumped out early to try and make sure the latter would not happen.

The Dream took a 21-point lead in the first quarter and enjoyed a 25-point lead around the two-minute mark in the second. Shooting 53% from both the field and the 3-point line, the Dream’s offense was equally matched with their structured defense to hold the Valkyries below 26% from the field to end the half up 46-26.

The name of the game was to stay poised, keeping the momentum high and the score higher. Atlanta’s offense struggled a bit early in the second half, with Golden State outscoring Atlanta 21-17 in the third quarter. But in the fourth, the Dream were able to push through some foul calls to finally close out with a victory.

The Dream will head to Golden State for the first Game 7 in the WNBA Finals to compete for the championship crown.

Key Moments

The moment the Dream stepped on the court, their demeanor shifted to protect their home court. And as the stats show, the Dream are undefeated whenever Angel Reese makes a 3-pointer.

Though the 25-point lead was enough cushion for the Dream to build on in the second quarter, a Reese 3-pointer with 2:11 left in the quarter and another halfway through the fourth quarter solidified the day’s outcome.

Another key was Allisha Gray. Her last two games weren’t off to great starts, but she came prepared in Game 6, shooting 5-of-7 from the 3-point line and getting a game-high three blocks to shut the Valkyries down, in addition to her team-high 23 points.

Top performers

Dream

Allisha Gray: 23 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks

Rhyne Howard: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

Angel Reese: 15 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists

Jordin Canada: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists

Naz Hillmon: 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Valkyries

Gabby Williams: 26 points, 3 rebounds

Tiffany Hayes: 15 points, 3 rebounds

Cecilia Zandalasini: 9 points, 1 rebound

Veronica Burton: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

Quotable

“Yeah, honestly, I think it started with us being able to have a little players-only meeting before film and talking through things and getting our confidence back, getting our swagger back. And Naz (Hillmon) just really emphasized, ‘Remember who you are’ ... We needed the best of every single person tonight, and you could definitely see it. Everybody came out super confident. Anybody that got in, the people that were on the floor, it was just an effort that you just could see that they were the best. And I’m just really proud of this group, of the punch first that we emphasize. When we can punch first, we won every single game. So I’m just really proud of just how we came out tonight, and we have to make sure we continue that going into Ballhalla.” - Angel Reese on conversations heading into the game.

“Such a great opportunity. I think our team is ready for it. We’re excited for it. We’ll take the next day to get as prepared as we can, (make) any adjustments that need to be made. But I thought, from yesterday, the mindset was so good about what we’re capable of doing, and the way we came out today. I think there’s a mentality right now that, yeah, we’re happy we won, but we know the job is not done. We got one more game.” - Coach Karl Smesko on his thoughts on the team’s performance.

“Shots were falling today, so I’ll take that. But I feel like it started on the defensive end. I was able to play defense, go for rebounds, and the coaches and my teammates did challenge me. And I do believe I stepped up to the challenge. And I know going to Game 7, I could take the foot off the gas and just I feel I could take it up even another level.’ - Allisha Gray on what it meant to dig deeper in her performance level.

“I mean, Lish does what Lish does, and honestly, she’s (Gray) never made an excuse for anything. I mean, she might be hurting, but you can’t tell. She comes out every day and she puts in the work, and I’m just really proud of her. She’s very coachable. She takes the film and makes sure she executes it in the game every single time. Me and her had a conversation on the way back from San (Francisco). I told her it’s gonna be a mental game. Like, who’s going to be mentally better? And you can’t let anybody check you out. You know exactly who you are. And I just want her to continue to be confident in who she is.” - Reese on Gray’s performance.

“I think it really helps when the work shows, and it’s been frustrating for all of us not being able to shoot great, and the shots that we’ve been getting — and the open shots that we have been getting — not hitting them at the right time. And I always told the girls, ‘It’s not gonna rain forever.’ And we were able to maximize that moment today. And the sun peeked out a little bit more today and gave us opportunity to see Game 7. So we’re just gonna continue to get better. We’re gonna continue to shoot great. We’re in a great mindset. All we needed was a little bit of swagger going into this, a little bit of confidence, and I think everybody’s just in a really great head space right now.” - Reese on what felt different in Game 6

Highlight of the Game

Rhyne Howard was the leading scorer in the past two games, but in Game 6, she was on a heater at the 3-point line, shooting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.