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There should be no problem with the Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream approaching the first WNBA Finals Game 7 in league history with a sense of urgency. <\/p>\n
Then again, that’s what Golden State coach Natalie Nakase thought about Game 6. She was baffled that her team somehow left behind its defensive intensity at the start of Thursday’s 80-69 loss to the hometown Dream that forced Game 7 at \u201cBallhalla\u201d in San Francisco on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. <\/p>\n
While the Valkyries were missing their defensive edge that was so important in their 64-55 Game 5 win, the Dream seized the opportunity by making 73.3 per cent of their shots in the first quarter and racing to a 32-15 lead. The 32 points are the highest by either team in a quarter in the series. <\/p>\n
Atlanta kept the lead in double figures for most of the remainder of the game. <\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t let that happen right out of the gate,\u201d Valkyries guard Veronica Burton said. \u201cThere needs to be a sense of urgency. It\u2019s the WNBA Finals.\u201d <\/p>\n
Even after the Valkyries showed fight by attempting a second-half comeback, Nakase was still struggling to comprehend the lackadaisical start so she could make sure it’s not repeated in Saturday night’s decisive game. She said she planned to have conversations with her players about the issue on the flight back to California. <\/p>\n
\u201cI put that on me of like, what did I not say, what did I not get to my team of the sense of urgency that we knew they were going to play?\u201d Nakase said of the Dream. \u201cWe knew they were going to play desperate. We knew they were going to play like their life depends on it. For us not to match that is disappointing and frustrating. So, yeah, I need to make sure my team is prepared.\u201d <\/p>\n
Added Nakase of her plan to seek answers: \u201cFor me, I need clarity. I need some information.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Dream and Valkyries will each be playing for their first WNBA title. <\/p>\n
Unfinished business <\/p>\n
Atlanta’s Allisha Gray scored 23 points and Rhyne Howard had 21 in Thursday’s win when Golden State’s only lead was 2-0. Angel Reese added 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Dream. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur job is not done,\u201d Reese said. \u201cWe 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, like [Gray] was saying. We shot a lot better this game, for sure, but I think we just continue to grow from this.\u201d <\/p>\n
The format for the WNBA Finals was a best-of-five series until the first best-of-seven series in 2025, when the Las Vegas Aces swept the Phoenix Mercury 4-0. <\/p>\n
The Dream lost in the Finals in 2010, 2011 and 2013. The Valkyries reached this year’s Finals in only their second season of existence. <\/p>\n
WATCH | WNBA Finals drama, explained:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793434945_922_default.jpg\")
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WNBA Finals venue drama explained<\/p>\n
Game 6 of the WNBA Finals is taking place at 12:30 p.m. EST between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries.Dream fans pack State Farm Arena <\/p>\n
Despite Thursday’s Game 6 being scheduled for a much-criticized 12:30 p.m. ET tipoff that created concerns about fans’ obligations to work and school, Atlanta supporters delivered a sellout of 17,099 at State Farm Arena. <\/p>\n
\u201cShout out to the crowd, being able to come here at 12:30 on a Thursday and so many things going on in the world from school to work, to everything else,\u201d Reese said. \u201cWe\u2019re just super thankful. We fed off their energy. They were loud from the beginning. So, we\u2019re definitely thankful for that.\u201d <\/p>\n
Reese knows another packed house will be supporting the Valkyries on Saturday night. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think that the crowd doesn\u2019t really get to us much, but I think, obviously, Game 7 is going to be a lot louder,\u201d Reese said. \u201cThe energy is going to be electric in there. So just honestly staying poised, staying together, and I think we\u2019ll be fine.\u201d <\/p>\n
Injury scare for Hayes <\/p>\n
Golden State’s Tiffany Hayes was called for her fifth foul in a collision for a loose ball with 5:01 remaining. Hayes was left lying on the court following the collision. She slowly walked off after receiving attention from a trainer. <\/p>\n
Nakase said she wanted to check in again with Hayes but added \u201cshe looked good to me. Yeah, she looked fine.\u201d <\/p>\n
Nakase and her players firmly denied the early start – 9:30 a.m. by California time – was a factor in the Valkyries’ slow start. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo. That had nothing to do with it,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cWe played at 1 o\u2019clock last week. No.\u201d <\/p>\n
Added Gabby Williams: \u201cThey played at the same time as us, right? So, it\u2019s not an excuse. We have to be better.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 5 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":952919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-952918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=952918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/952919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=952918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=952918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=952918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}