Allisha Gray, Dream beat Valkyries, force Game 7 of WNBA Finals - ESPN

ATLANTA — Allisha Gray scored 23 points and Rhyne Howard had 21 as the hot-shooting Atlanta Dream held off Golden State's late rally to take an 80-69 victory over the Valkyries in Game 6 on Thursday to pull even in the WNBA Finals.

The first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history will be played at Golden State on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET as each team seeks its first WNBA championship.

After having their lowest scoring games of the Finals in losses in Games 4 and 5, the Dream enjoyed an offensive awakening when faced with the must-win.

On Wednesday, the Dream announced a sellout for Game 6 despite the much-criticized 12:30 p.m. ET tipoff. There were only scattered empty seats in the upper level despite concerns about work and school obligations hurting the turnout.

Angel Reese recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds for Atlanta. Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 26 points. Tiffany Hayes added 15.

Atlanta's biggest lead was 25 points. The Valkyries stormed back in the final minutes, pulling to 77-66 on Laeticia Amihere's two free throws with 1:57 remaining.

«It's been frustrating for all of us not being able to shoot great… and open shots that we have been getting, not hitting them at the right time,» Reese said. «And I always told the girls it's not going to rain forever. And we were able to maximize that moment today. The sun peaked out a little bit more today and gave us an opportunity to see Game 7.»

After being held to 22 points in the first half of their 65-55 loss in Game 5, the Dream matched that total in the first 6:30 of the opening quarter.

Much of the production came on 3s. Atlanta made 6 of 8 3s and 11 of 15 shots overall while racing to a 32-15 lead in the first quarter.

After leading 6-5, the Dream