I Boo-Lieve That We Will Win with Little Citrus

Sarah Spain (0:01)

Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where you gotta flip those Vs upside down into A's, cause the dream came alive in game six. And we've got a game seven, baby. It's Friday, October 30th. Happy almost Halloween. On today's show, Little Citrus jumps on to discuss the Atlanta Dream's huge game six win over the Golden State Valkyries to even up the WNBA finals. Fans in the ATL showed out for the early tip off. We'll talk about how adjustments made all the difference between this one and what to expect in game seven on Saturday. Plus, Decision Day is here. We hope we're not a curse. And if you can make it 26.2 there, you can make it 26.2 anywhere. It's all coming up right after this.

Welcome back, Slices. Here's what you need to know today.

Let's start with the WNBA. For the first time in league history, the WNBA finals are headed to a game seven. In a must-win game on Thursday afternoon, the Atlanta Dream defeated the Golden State Valkyries 80 to 69 to even things up at three games apiece. The Valkyries scored the first points of the game, but Atlanta took a 3-2 lead just 56 seconds into the game, and they never trailed again, leading by as many as 25 points midway through the second quarter. The Dreams' Ali Chagray led Atlanta with 23 points, including five made threes, while Ryan Howard added 21 points, including four trays. And Angel Reese put up 15 points and 14 rebounds. The Valks were paced by Gabby Williams, 26 points, 22 of them in the second half as she helped her team claw their way back in, but ultimately come up short. In case anyone was concerned that the 1230 p.m. Eastern start time would impact fan attendance, fear not. State Farm was sold out and rocking for this one, with an official attendance of 17,099. T-Pain performed at halftime, and Usher, Lou Williams, Honda Sykes and friend of the show, Holly Rowe were among the celebs in the crowd. Speaking of Holly, there was a really nice nod to the ESPN trio of Holly, Rebecca Lobo and Ryan Ruko during the game from the USA broadcast team. Just a little hat tip to the many years of playoff coverage on ESPN. Really nice touch. With the big dream win, it all comes down to game seven this Saturday back at Ball-Halla or Boo-Halla, which feels appropriate since the game will be Halloween night. That one gets going at a normal primetime basketball hour, 8 p.m. Eastern tip-off. This is just the second year the WNBA is using a best of seven format for the finals. And since Las Vegas swept Phoenix last year 4-0, we didn't just get the first ever game six on Thursday. We're lucky enough to be getting the first ever game seven too. Plenty more to say about Thursday's game and the series in just a few minutes, when I'll be joined by producer Alex for a WNBA finals themed little citrus chat.

To the NWSL, which will also be handing out some hardware this weekend in the form of the NWSL Shield. As a reminder, the regular season will conclude on Sunday with every single game kicking off at 5 p.m. Eastern. Entering the final weekend, Gotham FC controls its destiny, with the baddies currently leading second place San Diego by three points. But if Gotham loses to Utah and San Diego wins against Bay FC, the Wave would earn the Shield. At the other end of the playoff standings, Seattle, North Carolina and Denver are all competing for the eighth and final playoff spot. Seattle will clinch automatically with a win against Orlando. But if Seattle ties or loses, it gets a little more complicated with the game between North Carolina and Denver almost serving as a de facto play-in game.

All that to say, Sunday is going to be real chaotic. So get out those second, third, and fourth screens. The Gotham-Utah game will air on ESPN, while the other seven will stream on ESPN Plus, and a whip around broadcast on ESPN 2 will help you keep tabs on all the games.

More on WSL and some real shitty injury news. Washington Spirit midfielder and new friend of the show, Hal Hirschfeld, has been placed on the season-ending injury list after tearing her ACL during last Sunday's match against the Kansas City Current. We are so bummed for Hal, and we're sending her our absolute best as she begins her recovery process.

More soccer, up north in Canada. The Northern Super League is set to play the first legs of their semi-final matches this weekend. The two-legged format means that the winner of each semi-final series is determined based on the aggregate score of two matches. AFC Toronto and Ottawa Rapid FC will meet up in one semi-final series, while Vancouver Rise FC and Montreal Rose FC will play in the other. We'll link to the full NSL playoff schedule in the show notes. And don't forget, I'll be in Ottawa on Friday, November 13th for the Women's Sports Now Conference, a day ahead of the NSL final. So all my maple bacon slices, grab a ticket and come say hey if you'll be out that way.