It was win-or-go-home for the Atlanta Dream on Thursday in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals, and the Dream played like it.
Atlanta controlled virtually the entire game, building a 25-point lead in an 80-69 win over the Golden State Valkyries at State Farm Arena.
Game 7 is Saturday at Chase Center.
The Dream started the game on fire. They shot a blistering 73% from the field in the first quarter, including 6/8 from deep, and led 32-15 after one quarter; Atlanta led 46-26 at halftime.
Atlanta made 13 threes, a franchise-high in a Finals game.
Allisha Gray led the Dream with 23 points, including 5/7 from deep, while Rhyne Howard added 21 points, including 4/6 from deep.
Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with a game-high 26 points.
The game started at 12:30 PM ET, but the Dream drew a big crowd.
Angel Reese finished with 15 points and game-highs of 14 rebounds and six assists, recording her fifth double-double of the postseason, which set a Dream franchise record for a single postseason.
According to Reese, the players fed off the crowd.
“Yeah, you could definitely tell we got our swagger back,” she said. “First shout-out to the crowd, being able to come here 12:30 on a Thursday and so many things going on in the world from school to work, to everything else, and we’re just super thankful. We fed off their energy. They were loud from the beginning. So we’re definitely thankful for that. We wanted to make sure we maximize this opportunity. It’s win or go home right now, and I think everybody left everything they had out there, and that’s what was important to us.”
Despite taking it to Game 7, Reese knows the job is not finished.
“Yeah, one, our job is not done,” she said. “We definitely could be happy about it for now, but we have more work to do. I think we definitely have another level that we can get to.”
Neither team’s job is finished. On Saturday, it comes down to the best two words in sports: Game 7.
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