July 18, 2026

They Held Clark to 13. Two Nights Later, She Made WNBA History

Caitlin Clark's 45-point, 10-assist night on Friday was the first 40-10 game the WNBA has ever seen. Two nights earlier, the Valkyries held her to 13 on 4-of-14 shooting. That league-best defense comes home tonight to open a two-game set against a Washington team that just shot 29 percent, with a tie for first place in reach if Portland does Golden State a favor in Minneapolis.

The number that frames tonight

Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 45 points with 10 assists on Friday, and the Indiana Fever outlasted Seattle 110-107. The WNBA's own game summary calls it "the first 40-10 game in WNBA history." She went 11-of-18 from the floor, 6-of-10 from deep, 17-of-19 from the line. Kelsey Mitchell added 30, Monique Billings 16, and Indiana did it without Aliyah Boston, who sat with a lower-leg injury. The Fever are 15-10.

Here is the part that matters for Golden State. On Wednesday in Indianapolis, that same player scored 13 on 4-of-14 shooting, 1-of-8 from three, and finished a team-worst minus-8 in 26 minutes under a minutes restriction. The 5/28 blueprint held: Burton on the ball, help walling off the paint, Clark funneled into contested threes. Two nights later, freed from that defense, Clark produced the best single-game stat line of her life.

That is the defense the Valkyries bring back to Chase Center tonight. It is the league's best by the numbers that decide games: 76.1 points allowed per game (first), the fewest paint points allowed (31.6), and the fewest turnovers committed (10.6). Over the franchise-record eight-game winning streak, opponents have averaged 69.3 points, and four of the eight were held under 70.

Home opener: the matchup and how to watch

Golden State (18-7) hosts Washington (12-11) tonight at Chase Center, 5:30 p.m. PT tip. It is the first of back-to-back home games against the Mystics, the opener of a two-game set before a Monday rematch.

How to watch: KPIX+ in the Bay Area, KMAX in Sacramento, and MNMT in the Washington market. Radio on 95.7 The Game, the Audacy app, and ESPN 1320. The spread sits at Golden State -8.5, with a total in the high 140s, the kind of low number two top-three defenses and a dead-last offense produce.

Golden State has never lost to Washington, 5-0 all-time across the franchise's two seasons. The last meeting was the 62-49 win in D.C. on July 6, still the fewest points the Valkyries have ever allowed. Monday's rematch tips at 7 p.m. PT on KPIX/KOVR, with a Hello Kitty plushie giveaway for the first 10,000 fans.

Film room: the looks Washington keeps getting

Washington's offense is the worst unit in the league by efficiency, and it is trending the wrong way. The Mystics score 80.0 points per game, 14th of 15, with a 100.2 offensive rating that is dead last. Their defense is real, third in points allowed at 82.9, which is why they grind games into the 60s and 70s and hang around .500.

Their last outing is the warning sign. In a 75-56 home loss to Portland on Thursday, Washington shot 29 percent, 19-of-64 from the floor and 2-of-21 from three, with 19 turnovers and only 11 assists. Shakira Austin's 19 and 9 were the only bright spot. It was the fourth time in 12 games the Mystics were held to 64 or fewer.

Golden State's defense is built to force exactly those looks. The Valkyries allow the fewest paint points in the league, so opponents get funneled into contested mid-range jumpers and challenged threes, the shots Washington has been missing all month. In the July 6 meeting, the Mystics went 3-of-24 from deep, 12.5 percent, the lowest three-point percentage Golden State has ever allowed.

The variable tonight is Sonia Citron. Washington's All-Star and 17.8-point scorer sat out the July 6 loss with a sore right knee, which is why that 49-point total came against a shorthanded backcourt. She is back now but slumping, 3-of-14 and 10 total points over her last two games. Tonight is the first time Golden State faces Washington with Citron active this season.

The standings, and what Portland could do for Golden State

The top of the league after Friday's results: Minnesota 19-6 (.760, first), Golden State 18-7 (.720, second), Las Vegas 17-7 (.708, idle until July 20 at Toronto), Dallas 16-8 (.667, with a game in hand after the postponed Liberty game was moved to July 20), and Indiana 15-10 (.600, fifth).

Tonight's slate sets up a clean two-step for the Valkyries. Portland is at Minnesota at 5 p.m. PT, tipping 30 minutes before Golden State. Then Washington visits Chase Center at 5:30. The math: a Minnesota loss plus a Golden State win pulls the Valkyries into a tie for first at 19-7. A Minnesota win plus a Golden State win keeps Golden State one game back.

The reason that is not just wishful thinking: Portland is the same team that just beat Washington by 19 and held them to 29 percent shooting. The Fire are a live upset threat at Target Center, even with Minnesota rookie Olivia Miles cleared to play after her left-ankle scare Wednesday. Napheesa Collier remains out for the Lynx, still working back from offseason surgery on both ankles.

With Las Vegas frozen until July 20, Golden State has these two home games to build a cushion before the Aces play again.

Roster, injuries, and the All-Star replacement door

Golden State is healthy for the home opener. The only name on the injury list is Iliana Rupert, out for the season due to pregnancy. Gabby Williams returned from the back contusion Wednesday, started, and led the team with 16 points, three steals, and a block. CBS lists no other Valkyries injuries. Washington is without Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, out for coach's decision.

The All-Star replacement watch shifted this week. Olivia Miles is off the Minnesota injury report and a full participant in practice, which closes the door her ankle injury had briefly opened. The one remaining path for Veronica Burton, the Valkyries' snubbed point guard, runs through Las Vegas: Kelsey Plum has now missed six straight with a lower-leg issue and is not due to be reevaluated until late July. If Plum cannot go in the July 25 game, Burton has the strongest replacement case in the league, 17 and six assists starting in place of Williams on July 10, then five assists running the offense in Indiana.

Quotes

Natalie Nakase, on what the 5-0 road trip built before the team comes home (after the 88-75 win at Indiana):

"We're getting closer and closer together. We used this road trip to actually bond and become tighter-knit, because when you're on the road, you don't really have your own schedule. You do everything together. We had a ton of fun." (Field Level Media, via WNBA.com)

Washington's Sonia Citron, on bouncing back from her 3-of-14 slump entering tonight:

"My teammates, my coaches all know what I can do, and they want me to be myself and do the things that I can do. So not being scared to do that and just realizing that when I play scared or timid, that's hurting my team. So just be aggressive. I know that my team, my teammates and coaches all have my back." (Field Level Media)