Golden State Valkyries' Tiffany Hayes (15) and Golden State Valkyries' Veronica Burton (22) celebrate the WNBA win as they clinch a spot in the playoffs after defeating the Dallas Wings 84-80 at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Sept 4, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The Valkyries have proven time and again that when the stakes are the highest, they deliver.
They delivered in tight fourth quarters, on the road in hostile environments and in moments when their inexperience was supposed to catch up to them.
And on Thursday night, they delivered the biggest win of the season.
In front of its 21st consecutive sold out crowd of the season, Golden State clawed its way back from a sluggish start to defeat the league-worst Dallas Wings 84-80 to guarantee its spot into the postseason. The Valkyries are the first WNBA expansion team to make the playoffs in their first season.
“To do it in such a team-oriented way, … we’re not winning that game without literally our entire team,” point guard Veronica Burton said. “Dallas, record wise, has struggled a little bit this year, but they’re an incredible team and they’re a team that fights. w\We knew that, but I think it’s even more rewarding to know we did it just fully as a team. That’s what we’ve done all year, but it was special.”
Janelle Salaün led the Valkyries with 19 points. Carla Leite came off the bench and scored 15 points and dished out five assists. Monique Billings added 11 points.
Paige Bueckers led Dallas with 27 points. Former Archbishop Mitty and Stanford standout Haley Jones had 18.
Golden State is the Bay Area’s second consecutive expansion team to make the playoffs in its inaugural season, joining Bay FC, which made the NWSL postseason last year.
Due to scheduling conflicts, the Valkyries won’t be playing their first home playoff game at Chase Center. Instead, Golden State will play its first home playoff game at SAP Center in San Jose.
“That’s obviously above us, so we can’t control it,” Burton said. “We have faith in our fans that they’re going to continue to show out for us. And wherever we play, we’re going to bring our basketball. So we’re confident, we’re excited, and it’s another opportunity to compete. So regardless of where we’re at, we’re going to show up.”
The Valkyries were thoroughly outplayed in the first half.
Golden State usually opens games whipping the ball around and making teams uncomfortable with its aggressive style of defense.
But the young Wings weren’t phased. Jones torched the Valkyries for 12 points in the first half while Dallas held the home team to 31.4% shooting and forced eight turnovers.
At halftime, Dallas led 41-32.
The Wings continued to pour it on early in the third quarter as they built their advantage to as big as 13 behind a barrage of mid-range jumpers from Bueckers.
But the Valkyries shifted the momentum of the game through Leite.
Leite scored six points in the quarter and put constant pressure on the rim. The rookie guard took control of the offense and initiated every play for the Valkyries in their attempt to get back into the game.
Golden State cut the deficit to four going into the fourth quarter behind Leite’s brilliance and energetic defense from Billings.
“Carla came alive,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. ” I know we’re a well conditioned team. I think they take pride in it. And so I think it was great that our bench just really kind of came to life. I was sitting there trying to find a rotation that I liked and (Laeticia Amihere) came in, brought great energy in terms of rebounding defense.
Carla kind of just navigated herself in the pick and rolls. She again, she made the calls. Kate (Martin) obviously came in with a ton of energy from the jump. And then (Janelle Salaün) finished the game really well, making clutch threes and then Veronica shooting free throws.”
In the final period, both teams traded baskets until the final seconds. The Valkyries continued to play through Leite.
But the decisive bucket came when Veronica Burton laid in a basket while getting fouled to extend the Valkyries’ lead to five with 22.3 seconds left. Bueckers hit a few more baskets, but the Valkyries made enough free throws until time ran out on the visiting team.
While the players celebrated following the conclusion of Thursday’s game, Nakase remained stoic and focused on the next game.
“I’m bittersweet in terms of, I’m supposed to do this,” Nakase said. “That’s my mental. That’s me saying must win.
“We’re not done yet. So maybe after season, after this is all done, I’ll reflect. But right now, I’m already thinking about Minnesota. I’m already thinking about the next step.”
The Valkyries will have their final home game of the season on Saturday against the Minnesota Lynx. Golden State still has seeding to play for in the next three games as it could still drop as far as eighth in the standings.
If the playoffs started as of Thursday night, the Valkyries would travel to Atlanta to play the Dream for their first round matchup.
