The Golden State Valkyries set their sights on the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoffs with two games remaining, beginning with Tuesday’s visit to the Portland Fire.
The second-year Valkyries (31-11) have been outstanding in the latter half of the season, winning 21 of their last 25 games since late June.
The Valkyries are on their second six-game winning streak since the beginning of August and, after a 70-57 defeat of Seattle on Saturday, sit just a game behind Minnesota for the best overall record in the WNBA.
Minnesota owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, however, meaning Golden State needs to win its final two games and have the Lynx lose both of theirs to claim the top seed.
Kaila Charles’ 16-point, 12-rebound double-double led Golden State in the regular-season home finale. Five Valkyries scored in double figures, continuing the team’s season-long trend of spreading offensive responsibilities effectively.
Six Golden State players average at least 7.8 points per game, with no one averaging more than Gabby Williams’ 14.3.
“We need everybody, so it’s next woman up,” Charles said of the Valkyries’ depth factoring into their playoff push. “It’s good to have these reps for everybody to sharpen up.”
In addition to its offensive balance, Golden State has flourished behind the league’s stingiest defense. The Valkyries are holding opponents to a WNBA-low 74.8 points per game.
In their two games since returning from the FIBA World Cup break — including an 82-66 rout of Portland on Friday — Golden State has extended its streak of holding opponents to fewer than 70 points to six games.
The Fire (16-27), meanwhile, have struggled with one of the league’s most porous defenses in the franchise’s inaugural season. Portland’s yield of 91.2 points per game is 13th out of 15 teams, and the Fire come into Tuesday’s affair fresh off surrendering 105 points in a loss at Los Angeles on Sunday.
Portland allowed the Sparks to go 14 of 29 on 3-point shots, almost five more than the 9.3-per-game average the Fire have surrendered this season. Portland also struggled to find an offensive complement to Carla Leite, whose 23-point effort in defeat marked her fourth game of at least 23 points in the last seven.
Leite’s season averages of 16.0 points and 6.3 assists, both leading the team, are a high point for a Fire team wrapping up its regular season.
“We’ve had so many positives, so we want to make sure we end it the right way,” Portland coach Alex Sarama said following Sunday’s loss.
–Field Level Media
