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Dream Beat Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 to Force First Game 7 in WNBA Finals History

Atlanta rode a 32-15 first quarter and 23 points from Allisha Gray at a sold-out State Farm Arena to tie the series 3-3, and a first-time champion will be decided Saturday in San Francisco.

By Orbit Post3 min read
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Dream Beat Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 to Force First Game 7 in WNBA Finals History
Photo: John Mac, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Angel_Reese_September_2024.jpg)

Key points

  • The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday at a sold-out State Farm Arena in Atlanta, tying the series 3-3 and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7.
  • Atlanta decided the game early, winning the first quarter 32-15 and leading by as many as 25 points.
  • Allisha Gray led Atlanta with 23 points, including five 3-pointers.

The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday at a sold-out State Farm Arena in Atlanta, tying the series 3-3 and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7. It is the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history, after the Finals format expanded to a best-of-seven series in 2025.

Atlanta decided the game early, winning the first quarter 32-15 and leading by as many as 25 points. Golden State won the third quarter 21-17 and the fourth 22-17, but the early gap held. The quarter scores were Atlanta 32-14-17-17 and Golden State 15-11-21-22.

Gray, Howard and Reese lead Atlanta

Allisha Gray led Atlanta with 23 points, including five 3-pointers. She also had six rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocked shots. Rhyne Howard scored 21 points with four 3-pointers, and Angel Reese added 15 points and 14 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the series. Jordin Canada scored 10 points.

Atlanta made 13 3-pointers, tied for the most made by a team facing elimination in WNBA Finals history, according to USA Today coverage of the game.

Howard said she knew the start mattered. "It's do or die. It's win or go home. I have to be a good leader for this team, I have to set the tone early, and that's what I did today," Howard said, according to USA Today.

Reese pointed to the same shift in confidence. "You can definitely tell we got our swagger back," Reese said. She added: "Championship mentality. We just wanted to get this one, one at a time, and being able to go out and take our chances and go on the road and win one. We needed the opportunity. That's all we needed and we maximized it today."

Golden State fight back, and a worry over Hayes

Gabby Williams scored 26 points for Golden State, and Tiffany Hayes scored 15 points. The Valkyries cut into the lead across the second half, but they never recovered from the first quarter.

Hayes left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return. She collided with Dream forward Rhyne Howard and Golden State guard Veronica Burton while chasing a loose ball with five minutes remaining, stayed down for almost a minute, then walked off without help and was seen holding her left hip, according to USA Today. She finished with 15 points in 28 minutes.

The game tipped off at 12:30 p.m. ET because of a scheduling conflict at State Farm Arena, where the Atlanta Hawks had a game scheduled for Thursday evening, according to theScore.

A first-time champion either way

Whichever team wins Game 7 will be a first-time WNBA champion. The Valkyries are in their second season as a franchise. The Dream reached the Finals in 2010, 2011 and 2013 without winning the title.

Golden State won Game 1 by 68-64, Atlanta won Game 2 by 79-65 and Game 3 by 97-71, Golden State won Game 4 by 67-62 and Game 5 by 64-55, and Atlanta answered in Game 6.

What happens next

Game 7 is scheduled for Saturday, October 31, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET at the Chase Center in San Francisco, hosted by the Valkyries. One game now decides the title.

Timeline

  1. Oct 17, 2026Golden State wins Game 1 at home, 68-64.
  2. Oct 19, 2026Atlanta wins Game 2, 79-65, to tie the series.
  3. Oct 21, 2026Atlanta wins Game 3 at home, 97-71, to lead 2-1.
  4. Oct 24, 2026Golden State wins Game 4 in Atlanta, 67-62, to tie the series at 2-2.
  5. Oct 26, 2026Golden State wins Game 5 at home, 64-55, to lead the Finals 3-2.
  6. Oct 29, 2026Atlanta wins Game 6 at home, 80-69, to tie the series 3-3 and force Game 7.
  7. Oct 31, 2026Game 7 is scheduled at Chase Center in San Francisco at 8 p.m. ET.

Sources