4 minutes reading
Reporting from CHASE CENTER
In a battle of the WNBA’s top two teams, the Minnesota Lynx pulled away from the Golden State Valkyries 77-66 on Wednesday night at Chase Center.
Olivia Miles and Kayla McBride each finished with a game-high 20 points, and Napheesa Collier added 18.
Janelle Salaun led Golden State with 15 points off the bench, but the Valkyries’ first-half shooting woes dug a hole they never climbed out of.
Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase downplayed the significance of the league’s two best teams facing off in her pregame press conference, but said her squad needed to control what it could control. On the opening possession, the Valkyries turned the ball over, and the Lynx scored on the other end.
Lynx guard Courtney Williams set the tone early, pushing the pace with four first-quarter rebounds to go with two assists and two points. Collier, a four-time All-WNBA selection, led all scorers with six points after one quarter as Minnesota built an eight-point lead.
Golden State never established a rhythm in the first, shooting just 23% from the field and making one 3-pointer. The Valkyries’ 13 points matched their season low for a first quarter, set July 18 against the Washington Mystics.
The cold shooting continued, and Minnesota stretched its lead to as many as 18. Even with the raucous Ballhalla crowd trying to spark the home team, shots wouldn’t fall — Golden State’s nine made field goals were a first-half season low.
A Miles fadeaway 3-pointer to beat the shot clock highlighted an ideal first half for Minnesota, which headed into the locker room with a 41-26 lead despite nine turnovers.
The break didn’t slow the Lynx, who opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run. Miles scored four of the six points, and the rookie guard from TCU — the odds-on favorite for WNBA Rookie of the Year — kept showcasing her full game, finding McBride for a 3-pointer with a behind-the-back pass.
Golden State chipped Minnesota’s lead, once 22 points, back to 13 entering the fourth quarter.
Second-year forward Salaun kept it going, scoring six straight for Golden State to fuel an 11-0 run that had Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve calling timeout with 8:18 left and her team’s lead down to 54-47.
Minnesota responded with a 7-2 run capped by a wide-open Miles 3 that pushed the lead back to 12. Miles emphatically celebrated the shot as Nakase called timeout.
Miles exited the game with an ankle injury with under five minutes to play. Reeve said afterward it was too early to know the extent of the injury, but that she hopes Miles will be OK.
With Miles out, McBride stepped up — burying a 3-pointer and hitting the “night-night” celebration in Stephen Curry’s house, then drawing a charge on the defensive end to snuff out any hopes of a Valkyries comeback.
McBride said:
“Steph Curry is my favorite player. I’ve watched probably every single game he’s ever played. I’ve been to Oracle [Arena]. … So I just have a lot of respect for the game, and then also just playing here. [The] fans are amazing, and just being a competitor and enjoying the moment.”
With the victory, Minnesota (30-7) all but secured home-court advantage for the 2026 WNBA Playoffs, stretching its lead over Golden State (25-10) to four games in the standings. The Lynx also clinched the season series ahead of the teams’ final meeting Monday at Target Center.
Minnesota has never lost to the Valkyries in the franchise’s two-year existence, sweeping the 2025 regular-season series and their first-round playoff matchup. Even with that ownership of the league’s second-best team, Collier isn’t putting her squad on a pedestal.
“I don’t think we have anyone’s number. Anyone can win any night in this league. I think we just have been really locked in on defense [and] executing our game plan,” Collier said.
Up Next
Golden State plays its next five games on the road before the FIBA Women’s World Cup break, starting Friday against the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena at 4:30 p.m. in an exclusive broadcast on ION.
San Francisco to host 2027 All-Star Game
The WNBA announced Tuesday that the Valkyries and the San Francisco Bay Area will host AT&T WNBA All-Star 2027. The game is set for Saturday, July 31, with events throughout the weekend, including the Kia WNBA Shooting Stars and State Farm WNBA 3-Point Contest at Chase Center on Friday, July 30, and the sixth annual WNBA Live presented by AWS at Moscone Center. It’s the latest premier sporting event to land in the Bay Area: Last week, Major League Baseball announced the Giants and Oracle Park will host the 2028 All-Star Game, following Super Bowl LX and FIFA World Cup 2026 matches at Levi’s Stadium earlier this year.
Lynx good luck charm in attendance
Oliver Reeve, son of Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, attended both the game and his mother’s postgame press conference. Reeve, who starts sixth grade Aug. 31, is undefeated when he attends Lynx road games, according to his mother. Cheryl Reeve said:
“I don’t know when he’s going to be able to go to school because he’s going to be with us. He’s our good luck charm.”
Attendance was 18,064.
