The Atlanta Dream forced the first WNBA Finals Game 7 in league history Thursday, beating the Golden State Valkyries 80 to 69 at State Farm Arena to tie the series at three games apiece.
Facing elimination on their home floor, the Dream came out like a team with no intention of watching Golden State celebrate in their building. The game was tied at 6 to 5 early before Atlanta ripped off 13 straight points, and by the six minute mark the Dream were up 19 to 5. Atlanta poured in 32 points in the first quarter, doubled up the Valkyries by the end of the period and built the biggest first quarter lead in WNBA Finals history. Golden State shot 5 of 17 in the frame.
The ball movement was the story of the first half. Atlanta assisted on 12 of its 17 field goals before the break and went into halftime up 46 to 26. Dream head coach Karl Smesko said afterward that this is the version of the team he knows Atlanta is capable of being. The lead eventually stretched to 25.
Allisha Gray was the engine. After an up and down series, she finally had the shooting night Atlanta needed, finishing with a team high 23 points on 8 of 12 from the field and 5 of 7 from three. Rhyne Howard added 21. Angel Reese did her damage everywhere, putting up 15 points and 13 rebounds for a double double and even stepping out to knock down a three in front of a crowd that was on its feet most of the afternoon.
Golden State did not go quietly. The Valkyries cleaned up their defense in the second half and held Atlanta to 34 points over the final two quarters. By the end of the third, the lead was down to 16. When Golden State crept within 13 in the fourth, Gray and Reese answered with threes on back to back possessions. Reese’s shot with 5:43 left put Atlanta up 74 to 55 and the arena erupted.
Then the Dream went cold. Atlanta did not make another field goal for nearly five minutes, and Golden State scored 14 of the next 17 points, with Gabby Williams accounting for 11 of them. Howard fouled out with 1:15 left on a Williams fast break layup, and the free throw that followed cut the lead to 77 to 69.
Gray ended it. With her defender closing out and just under a minute to go, she let a three fly from the far right corner. It dropped, she turned to the crowd and roared, and the WNBA Finals Game 7 was officially on the calendar. The Valkyries missed their final three shots.
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Atlanta finished with 13 threes, tying the 2023 New York Liberty and the 2006 Detroit Shock for the most made in a WNBA Finals game by a team facing elimination. The Dream also turned 11 Golden State turnovers into 18 points.
Williams led all scorers with 26 for the Valkyries, and Tiffany Hayes added 15.
The setting added its own drama. Game 6 tipped off Thursday afternoon, and State Farm Arena staff had to flip the floor for an Atlanta Hawks game that night. A Golden State win would have meant a trophy ceremony squeezed into a midday weekday slot with crews waiting to roll in the hardwood. The Dream made sure that never happened.
Now it comes down to one game. The WNBA moved the Finals to a best of seven format in 2025, and this is the first time the series has gone the distance. Both franchises are chasing their first championship. Atlanta, the No. 4 seed, has never won a title. Golden State, the No. 2 seed, is only in its second season of existence and already one win away from a ring.
WNBA Finals Game 7 tips off Saturday night at Chase Center in San Francisco, where the Valkyries will have their home crowd and the Dream will have the momentum.
