Dream face Valkyries in historic WNBA Finals showdown

ATLANTA - The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries take the floor Saturday night in the first winner-take-all Game 7 in WNBA Finals history, with both teams chasing their first league championship.

Dream chase first WNBA championship

What we know:

Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. tonight at the Chase Center in San Francisco after Atlanta kept its title hopes alive with an 80-69 win Thursday afternoon.

Saturday’s winner will claim its first WNBA championship, as neither franchise has ever lifted the league trophy.

Atlanta set the tone immediately in Game 6, knocking down 73.3% of its shots in the opening quarter to jump out to a 32-15 lead. The 32 points marked the highest-scoring quarter by either team in the series, allowing the Dream to keep the lead in double digits for most of the contest and stave off elimination, according to reporting from the Associated Press.

Sold-out crowd fuels Dream's historic Finals push

The midday victory took place before a raucous, sold-out crowd at State Farm Arena after Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens issued an official citywide excuse note urging employers and educators to give fans flexibility to tune in. The celebration spilled onto downtown streets after the final buzzer with live marching bands as fans chanted "Dream in 7."

Golden State now looks to regroup on its home floor. Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase said she was baffled by her team’s lack of defensive intensity at the start of Game 6 and stressed that Golden State must match Atlanta's desperate, high-urgency pace from the opening tip.

Following Thursday's game, Angel Reese spoke about the fans' energy and how it fueled the team's momentum.

"First shout out to the crowd being able to come here 12:30 p.m. on a Thursday and so many things going on in the world, from school to work to everything else, and we're just super thankful. We fed off their energy," Reese said. "They were loud from the beginning, so we're definitely thankful for that, but we wanted to make sure we maximize this opportunity. It's win or go home right now, and I think everybody left everything they had out there and that was what was important to us."

Watch parties in Atlanta

Dig deeper:

Atlanta Dream has announced a list of official watch party locations. 

What we don't know:

Coaching staffs have not announced any starting lineup changes or rotation adjustments heading into pregame warmups.

City of Atlanta officials have not released celebration plans should the Dream win in San Francisco.