By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
Rafu Sports Editor
For the first time in the 30-year history of the Women’s National Basketball Association, there will be a winner-take-all Game 7 in the Finals.
Angel Reese had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds on Thursday, and the Atlanta Dream dominated the Golden State Valkyries in Game 6, 80-69.
With the series knotted at three game apiece, the decided contest will take Saturday on the Valkyries’ home court, the Chase Center in San Francisco. Tip-off is 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
Game 6 appeared well in hand for Atlanta from the outset, connecting on six of eight 3-pointers in the first quarter, and leading 32-15 by the end of the period.
Golden State head coach Natalie said the Dream’s hot start was as much of a surprise as it was aggravating.
“Just more frustrated me really. Unacceptable, our poor start. It was just more frustration,” said Nakase, who in just its second year of existence has guided the Valkyries to the finals.
“We 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.”
Much was made of the start time of Game 6, moved to 12:30 p.m. in Atlanta, as the NBA’s Hawks had a home game later that evening. The Dream normally play at Gateway Center Arena located in nearby College Park, a venue that holds only around 3,500 spectators for basketball games. For the WNBA finals, the games in Atlanta were moved to the 16,000-seat State Farm Arena, resulting in some scheduling adjustments becoming necessary.
Nakase brushed off the idea that the relatively early start time had any significant effects on her team’s performance. She said for Game 7, the Valkyries will need to ramp up their physicality, particularly on the defensive end.
“This is win or die. This is do or die. This is it. And so you want to have that type of, again, two defensive teams,” she said. “You want to have that physicality. You want to have that fight. You want to lay it all out there. That’s what the Finals is about is just an empty-the-tank mentality, and shoot, we didn’t do that tonight.”
In keeping with their team moniker, Golden State’s home court has been dubbed “Ballhalla,” after Valhalla, the majestic hall of Odin in Norse mythology. For this Saturday, some are adopting the name “Boo-halla,” as the matchup takes place on Halloween.
A native of SoCal, Nakae starred at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, then stunned the Pac-10 as a walk-on at UCLA. At just 5-foot-2, Nakase was a three-year starter, earning All Pac-10 honorable mention in 2002.
After a pro career in California and in Europe, Nakase turned to coaching. In 2011, she became the first female to be head coach of a men’s team in Japan’s top professional league. Pursuing her dream to be a coach in the NBA, she returned to California, eventually landing n assistant coaching role for the L.A. Clippers.
After two seasons with the Las Vegas Aces – including a WNBA championship in 2022 – Nakase was named head coach of the expansion Golden State Valkyries. After last season, she was honored at the WNBA’s Coach of the Year.
The Valkyries also feature Kaitly Chen a graduate of Flintridge Prep who played at Princeton, then moved over UConn, when she was part of the National Champion Huskies in 2025. She is the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted and to play in a WNBA game.