The Atlanta Dream refused to let a bad schedule kill their season. On Thursday, a matinee contest resembling a night affair saw them defeat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69. A sellout crowd of 17,000 fans packed State Farm Arena to watch the series go to a deciding Game 7. This win changes everything for Atlanta. The team showed they can play under pressure even when the league sets them up to fail.
Swagger Returns With Record Crowd
The atmosphere in Atlanta was electric despite the 12:30 p.m. start time. Angel Reese helped with 15 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists in the victory. “You could definitely tell we got our swagger back,” said Reese after the game, according to the Mighty 790 KFGO. The Dream played their postseason games at the Hawks’ State Farm Arena because their usual 3,500-seat home was too small for the demand. Rhyne Howard also stepped up with a hot first half that gave Atlanta a 20-point lead. She added that the crowd could now go enjoy the rest of their day with bottomless mimosas.
League Ignored Early Warnings
The WNBA faced heavy criticism for scheduling Game 6 as a weekday afternoon match. The Dream ownership group released an open letter on Wednesday stating their concerns over the schedule clash with the Hawks’ regular season game against the Cleveland Cavaliers did not get the “attention, nor the urgency that they deserved” from the WNBA. They felt the league assumed Atlanta would not make it this far. This complaint highlights a real disconnect between the league office and the teams on the court.
Despite the frustration, the fans proved the league wrong. The series has drawn record viewership with an average of 2.1 million people watching Game 1. Thursday’s victory avoided the awkward appearance of the WNBA naming a champion during the middle of a workday. Valkyries fans back in the Bay Area had to tune in at 9:30 a.m. PT to watch their team try to win the title. Now the pressure shifts entirely to Golden State for Game 7.
