It's Game 7 for the Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream, and one franchise will win its first championship on Saturday night. The Dream forced this winner-take-all game -- the first Game 7 in WNBA history -- on Thursday. In a matinee at State Farm Arena, the Dream jumped out to a 25-point lead in the first half and held on for an 11-point win.
Can Angel Reese and Atlanta finish the job on Saturday? Or will the Valkyries, Gabby Williams and a raucous home crowd propel Golden State to the title? We're making our picks below.
Gibbs: It feels fitting that this historic 30th WNBA season, that began with a hard-fought CBA that elevated player compensation into a new echelon, is ending in the league's first-ever Game 7. But let's face it: This has not been a series of beautiful basketball. The Valkyries are shooting 34.5% from the field and 26.4% from 3 in the Finals, while the Dream are faring only marginally better, averaging 37.2% and 28.5%, respectively.
However, it has been an incredibly compelling showcase of defense and mental fortitude, two aspects of the game that often get the short shrift. Both teams have had to pull themselves off the mat after punches that were potential knockouts; both teams have gained momentum just to have it halted; both teams have relied on their unity and self belief and confidence and grit to make it to this final do-or-die game.And now that we're here, it truly does feel like a toss-up. While the Dream's sensational first quarter on Thursday made the Game 7 possible, the way the Valkyries kept fighting in the game — winning the second half by nine points and whittling down a 25-point Dream lead to nine with just over a minute to play — set that Game 7 up to be a true prize fight.
I keep thinking about what Veronica Burton said in the press conference after the Valkyries lost Game 6 in Atlanta by a score of 80-69."My body language is bad. But at the end of the day, we feel good. It was a bad game for us.
We had a terrible first quarter. We didn't quit," Burton said. "Games ... 2 and 3 were ugly.
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