The Lynx beat the Valkyries 77-66 at Chase Center on Wednesday night, four points past the margin I set in Tuesday’s preview and about 20 minutes past the point where Golden State’s plan stopped working.
That was the preview’s open question: what Natalie Nakase does with a scouting report assembled on a June version of this team. Minnesota answered by leading 21-13 after one and 41-26 at the half. Golden State never held the lead at any point in the game, by its own accounting.
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Olivia Miles is why. In the June 19 meeting she shot 1-for-10 for seven points against this defense. Wednesday she put up 20 on 8-of-10 with seven assists, two steals and two blocks in 30 minutes before rolling her left ankle in the fourth quarter, stepping on Napheesa Collier’s foot on a closeout. She sat on the floor, then limped to the bench under her own power and did not return.
A 9 p.m. tip on the West Coast means I watch these alone in Chicago with the volume down, and I still said something out loud when she went down.
Kayla McBride matched her with 20 on 6-of-13. Collier finished with 18 and eight boards, Courtney Williams had nine points and seven assists, Natasha Howard eight and six. Minnesota shot 50 percent and got 75 of its 77 points from the starting five.
Golden State went 25-of-77 from the field and made seven 3-pointers. Gabby Williams took 15 shots and made four. Janelle Salaün led the home team with 15, Veronica Burton added 14 and seven assists, and Tiffany Hayes had 12 and seven rebounds. The Valkyries did produce a 17-2 run from the 6:48 mark of the third quarter into the fourth, which trimmed a 22-point deficit and never turned into anything else.
The six-game win streak is over. So is the theory that this matchup is trending anywhere: Minnesota is now 9-0 against Golden State since the franchise began play in 2025, including last year’s first-round sweep. Three of the nine have come this season.
Courtney Williams framed the stakes the way a team that already knows what it is frames them. “We’re all kind of figuring out (playoff) positions right now, so whenever you can go get some tough games in before playoffs, it’ll only help you,” she said.
Positions, plural, for everyone else. Minnesota is 30-7 with seven games left, Golden State fell to 25-10, and one result knocked two off the magic number for the top overall seed. Nothing is clinched. Nothing is in doubt either.
Golden State has scouted this team nine times and lost nine times.
