Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase argues with a referee in the second quarter of a WNBA game against the Minnesota Lynx at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo Credits to Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By Michael Villanueva
SAN FRANCISCO – The best of the best battled each other on Wednesday night. The Golden State Valkyries, second place in the WNBA, hosted the Minnesota Lynx, first place in the WNBA, at Chase Center. Both teams have already clinched their spots in the playoffs. The matchup determined who would ultimately hold the first-place seed, and it went to Minnesota after the Gophers defeated the Valkyries 77-66. Golden State is also now 0-9 against Minnesota all-time.
Minnesota came into Ballhalla hoping to get their 30th win of the season. The Lynx have gone 19-2 against Western Conference teams. In their last ten games, the Lynx have gone 9-1, and are 15-2 on the road this season. Minnesota is also on a four-game winning streak, and not looking to slow down. So the Lynx started with guards Olivia Miles, Courtney Williams, forwards Kayla McBride, Napheesa Collier, and center Natasha Howard.
After Monday’s win over the Dallas Wings, Golden State have secured and clinched a spot for the postseason. The Valkyries are 10-6 against Western teams in the season so far. In the last ten games, the Valkyries have gone 8-2, and are 15-4 at home. So Golden State would send out guards Veronica Burton, Gabby Williams, forwards Kayla Thornton, Cecilia Zandalasini, and center Kiah Stokes. The team is also riding a six-game winning streak and is hoping to make it seven wins.
Minnesota’s Courtney Williams would score the first bucket of the night off of a 11-foot running jump shot. After that, Minnesota would have most control of the game over Golden State. The Valkyries would have a rough shooting start, but this isn’t anything new to the Valkyries. In their last three home games, Golden State would find themselves trailing going into the second quarter, and the highest they scored in the first quarter out of the three games was just 20 points. At the end of the first quarter, the Valkyries found themselves down by eight to the Lynx, 21-13.
Going into the second quarter, the Valkyries’ shooting on the floor was a low 22%, going 4-for-18 shooting as a team. While the Lynx were shooting comfortably in Ballhalla at 60% from the floor, going 9-for-15 shooting as a team. Minnesota’s passing has been all over Golden State’s defense, and the Lynx keep finding their players in the paint. The Lynx have scored 18 points compared to Valkyrie’s four points in the paint.
At the end of the second quarter, Minnesota’s lead would extend to 15 points over Golden State, 41-26. The Valkyries’ shooting still hasn’t improved, but the Lynx defense has been stellar on their close-out shots and covering the floor when they’re back on defense. Golden State is now shooting at a 24%, going 9-for-37 on the floor as a team.
At the start of the third quarter, the Lynx shooting in the paint didn’t slow down as Olivia Miles made a 15-foot step-back jump shot to start the second half of the game. In fact, Minnesota would make Golden State take an early timeout with not even two minutes in the third quarter due to the Lynx making their first three shots of the quarter. After that, Minnesota would start to slow down on their shooting, and the Valkyries were able to see some openings and shots to fall down. In the final three minutes of the quarter, Golden State was down by 18 points, and once the quarter was over, the lead would drop to 13 points, 54-41.
In the final quarter of the game, Golden State was able to get some life into them, and a lot of that had to do with their guard Tiffany Hayes and Janelle Salaun. Salaun would go on an 8-0 scoring run by herself, and then Hayes, showing off her toughness, was able to find her way to get in the paint for the easy buckets. In the final three minutes of the game, Minnesota had the lead by 8 points, 69-61. The Valkyries haven’t led the game once, while the Lynx held the lead the whole game.
Then Minnesota’s Kayla McBride would make a big-time three-pointer to push the lead back 11 points, 72-61. McBride would have herself a night, as she would set a new franchise record with 106 made three-pointers and counting. Then, with a minute and a half left in the game, Valkyries Gabby Williams would make a 26-foot three-pointer to cut the lead back to ten points, and hopefully find a way to come back and get the win. Unfortunately, with 30 seconds left and the score now at 77-66, the game was pretty much set and done in Ballhalla.
As the game time clock expired, the Minnesota Lynx would come into Ballhalla and take the win from the Valkyries, snapping their six-game winning streak. After a big adjustment in the second half, Golden State’s efforts weren’t enough. However, this is not the end of these two teams meeting. In five days, the Golden State Valkyries and Minnesota Lynx will face off one more time in the season. Golden State was led by Janelle Salaun with her 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
The Golden State Valkyries will begin their five-game road trip starting on Friday, August 21st. The Valkyries will start in Chicago and take on the Sky, once again at 4:30 p.m. in Wintrust Arena. The game will be broadcast live on ION. This game will also be the final game that Golden State and Chicago will play against this season, with the winner taking the season series between them.
