Golden State Valkyries Daily
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Valkyries Daily: Half a Game Out of First

Both teams ahead of Golden State lost this week while the Valkyries kept winning. Now a five-game streak, a first-ever trip to Toronto, and the standings door is cracking open.

The race tightened overnight

Golden State is 15-7 and third in the WNBA, but the gap to the top shrank to a half-game this week. Both teams ahead of the Valkyries lost: Las Vegas (now 15-6) fell 84-68 at home to Indiana on Sunday, playing without the injured A'ja Wilson, and Minnesota (also 15-6) lost 90-89 to last-place Connecticut on Monday night, when Brittney Griner went for 29 points and 10 rebounds and Kennedy Burke hit two late threes. It was the first time all season the Lynx dropped two in a row.

The Minnesota loss carried a cost beyond the standings. Rookie point guard Olivia Miles, an All-Star starter, was a late scratch with a right calf strain. Coach Cheryl Reeve told the Star Tribune the team is still searching for answers: "I think ultimately it wasn't a cramp, and so we're kind of taking the next step of imaging and that sort of thing, and trying to get a final answer [on] exactly what we're dealing with." For a Valkyries team chasing the Lynx, the health of Minnesota's engine matters the rest of the way.

Reeve is still tied with Mike Thibault at 379 regular-season wins, one short of the WNBA career record. Her next chance comes Wednesday, when the Lynx play at Connecticut again. An SF Standard piece on Monday argued the Valkyries already belong in the title conversation; the week's results are starting to show why.

Wednesday: a first-ever meeting in Toronto

The Valkyries continue their road swing at the Toronto Tempo on Wednesday, 4 p.m. Pacific (7 p.m. Eastern) at Coca-Cola Coliseum. It is the first-ever meeting between the franchises, Toronto being a 2026 expansion club in its inaugural season. Bay Area viewers can watch on KPIX, with KOVR carrying the game in Sacramento, and it streams on WNBA League Pass (broadcast schedule). Radio is on the Audacy app. The trip keeps going after that: at Connecticut on Friday (ION, 4:30 p.m. PT) and at Indiana next Wednesday (USA, 5 p.m. PT).

Toronto (9-11, 4-6 in the East) has lost six of seven and comes in short-handed. Two starters are out, per the Associated Press preview: guard Brittney Sykes with a plantar-fascia foot injury and rookie Kiki Rice with a left ankle sprain. Center Temi Fagbenle (eye) and guard Julie Allemand (ankle) are day-to-day. Golden State's only injury absence is Iliana Rupert, out for the season due to pregnancy.

Film room: a pace clash, and the three-point math

This is an offense-versus-defense matchup. Toronto scores 90.1 points per game, near the top of the WNBA, and gives up 91.8. Golden State scores 83.0 and owns the second-best defensive rating in the league, holding opponents to 41.7 percent from the field. Over the last 10 games the contrast is even starker: Toronto averages 91.3 points and allows 93.7, while the Valkyries average 77.4 and allow 72.3.

Two numbers tell the story Wednesday. Toronto shoots 44.2 percent from the field this season, about two and a half points higher than what Golden State typically gives up, so the Tempo's efficiency runs straight into the league's sturdiest defense. On the other end, the Valkyries launch a WNBA-leading 10.7 threes per game, roughly two more than Toronto surrenders (8.6). Expect Golden State to fire from deep early, especially with Toronto missing its best perimeter defenders. Janelle Salaun leads the Valkyries at 2.4 threes per game on 37 percent; Toronto's Marina Mabrey fires 3.5 per game at a 40-percent clip, and the Tempo rank second in the league in made threes.

Roster: Kiah Stokes is adding a dimension

The Rupert absence was supposed to gut Golden State's center spot. Instead, 11th-year veteran Kiah Stokes has turned the starting job into the best shooting season of her career. Stokes is hitting 37 percent from three this year, per ESPN, after never topping 30 percent in a single season, and she ranks second in the WNBA with 2.0 blocks per game. In Monday's win she grabbed nine rebounds, blocked three shots, and was the only Golden State starter to connect from deep.

Coach Natalie Nakase credited the reps: "She has done an amazing job. She led us right in threes. Her and Janelle tied." A stretch-five Stokes opens the floor for drives from Veronica Burton (12.3 points, 5.2 assists) and Gabby Williams, and that spacing should travel well against a Toronto defense that bleeds from the arc.

Tonight: All-Star reserves are revealed

The 12 All-Star reserves, chosen by the league's head coaches, will be announced Tuesday night, rounding out the 22-player pool for the July 25 game at Chicago's United Center. Gabby Williams is already locked in as the Valkyries' first All-Star starter. Two names to watch on the Valkyries beat: Toronto's Marina Mabrey (21.1 points, 40 percent from three) is a likely reserve, and Golden State point guard Veronica Burton is a potential injury-replacement candidate per ESPN's projection. Legends Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon will draft the two teams from the pool.

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