July 11, 2026

Valkyries Daily: Seven Straight, Pulled Even, and Both Teams Ahead Play Tonight

Veronica Burton returned to her former arena and scored 17 in Gabby Williams' absence, the Valkyries won a franchise-record seventh straight at Connecticut 79-64, and Golden State (17-7) pulled into a first-place tie at 0 games back with the 16-6 Aces and Lynx. Both teams they're tied with play at home tonight.

Last night: Valkyries 79, Sun 64

Golden State won its franchise-record seventh straight Friday night in Uncasville, 79-64, to move to 17-7 and 4-0 on the five-game road trip that ends Wednesday at Indiana. The Associated Press framed it plainly: the Valkyries "move into a first-place tie with Minnesota and Las Vegas."

It did not look like a blowout early. Connecticut led 17-9 in the first and 23-19 in the 12th minute, attacking through former Huskies Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards. Then Golden State's defense turned the lights out. The Sun scored six points in the second quarter on 3-for-15 shooting, the fewest the Valkyries have allowed in any quarter in franchise history, during a six-minute scoring drought. Golden State led 30-25 at the half despite a sluggish 30-point offensive half of its own.

Veronica Burton broke it open. She was the first Valkyrie to reach double figures, getting there with 31 seconds left in the third on a three-point play going left, then beat the buzzer with an up-and-under layup from the same spot for a 54-44 lead. Kaila Charles and Burton opened the fourth with back-to-back threes to cap an 11-0 run and make it 60-44. Golden State led by as many as 22.

Burton, a former Sun first-round pick and Boston native starting in Williams' place, finished with a game-high 17 points and six assists on 7-of-12 shooting, plus two blocks and a steal in 33 minutes (box score). Janelle Salaün led the reserves with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three steals on 4-of-7 from three, finishing a game-best plus-18. Charles and Tiffany Hayes added nine each, Kaitlyn Chen had eight with two steals, and Laeticia Amihere blocked three shots in 17 minutes. As a team Golden State shot 51.7 percent from the field and 8 of 18 from deep while forcing 20 Sun turnovers.

Connecticut, missing Brittney Griner (left quad), Aneesah Morrow (reconditioning), and Saniya Rivers (left ankle), got 14 from Diamond Miller and 12 apiece from Nelson-Ododa and Charlisse Leger-Walker. The Sun fell to 5-18.

Film room: the second-quarter clamp

The story of this game is a single quarter. Connecticut scored six points in the second, on 3-for-15 shooting with a six-minute drought, and that was the ballgame. Six points is the fewest Golden State has surrendered in any quarter in the two-year history of the franchise, and it ties the fewest any WNBA team has allowed in a quarter this season.

What stands out is who was missing. Gabby Williams is the reigning First-Team All-Defensive wing and the team's lead scorer, and she sat with a back contusion. The clamp came from the system, not the star. Golden State entered Friday allowing 69.2 points per game over its previous six, and it held Connecticut to 64 while forcing 20 turnovers and registering 11 steals and six blocks. Salaün's three steals and Amihere's three blocks led the disruptive effort. The Valkyries' defense-first identity held without its best defender, which is the strongest sign yet that this streak is built on structure, not one player.

The standings: tied, technically third, and both co-leaders play tonight

Golden State is 17-7, and the standings say 0 games back. The Valkyries are tied with Las Vegas (16-6) and Minnesota (16-6) in the games-back column, the AP's "first-place tie," but they sit third by winning percentage, .708 to the co-leaders' .727, because Golden State has played two more games than either. The Valkyries have won 11 of their last 13, and the only losses in that span came against the Lynx and at the Aces.

The picture moves again tonight, and the Valkyries don't play. Both teams they're tied with are at home: Las Vegas hosts Phoenix (3 p.m. PT on NBC/Peacock), and Minnesota hosts New York. If either co-leader loses, Golden State jumps it in winning percentage. If both win, the Valkyries drop back to a half-game out. The race that Golden State chased for a week is now close enough to swing in a single night.

Next: idle until Wednesday at Indiana

The Valkyries are off until Wednesday, when they wrap up the five-game road trip at Indiana. Tip is 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) on USA Network, KPIX in the Bay Area, KOVR in Sacramento, and the Audacy app. It is the final meeting of the season with the Fever, and the series is split so far.

The Caitlin Clark question matters here. Clark returned from her back injury Wednesday in Los Angeles, played 16 minutes, then sat the second half of the back-to-back Thursday in Phoenix as planned. By Wednesday she will be a week removed from her return with no back-to-back to manage, so expect her available with an easing minutes restriction. Her status is worth tracking as the game approaches.

Injury watch: Williams sits, and the Burton All-Star door narrows

Gabby Williams missed her first game of the season Friday with a back contusion suffered on a hard third-quarter fall in Toronto two nights earlier. The team's lead scorer at 15.0 points per game and its only All-Star starter, Williams is day-to-day, and her status for Wednesday in Indiana is undecided. Head coach Natalie Nakase downplayed the injury last week, saying only, "I actually did not check with medical, but she was smiling, so that's all I can say." Burton sliding into the starting five and delivering 17 and six is the clearest proof the roster can absorb a short absence.

The All-Star replacement picture shifted overnight. Minnesota's Olivia Miles, an All-Star starter who missed two games with a right calf strain, is off the injury report and expected to play tonight against New York, which closes one path to Chicago for Veronica Burton. Las Vegas's Kelsey Plum remains out with a lower-leg injury, so at least one replacement slot could still open. Burton, the closest Valkyrie to a reserve nod who did not make the cut, only helped her case by taking over Friday's game.

Tracking: 40 wins, and the West Coast UConn

Friday was the 40th win in franchise history, coming in just the 68th game, making Golden State the fastest expansion team to 40 wins in WNBA history. The franchise made the playoffs in its inaugural season a year ago, sold out all 22 home dates at Chase Center, and is now tied atop the league in Year 2.

The Connecticut trip also put the roster's UConn connection on display. Golden State carries four former Huskies, the most of any WNBA team, in Chen, Williams, Stokes, and Hayes. Chen, who has grown from a 10-minute rookie into a 14-minute, seven-point reserve in her second year, leaned into the comfort of it: "Tip (Hayes) out there, it's so nice to have her with me all the time. She's sort of like my comfort person." Hayes returned the praise: "Her confidence, I think, is really high right now. She's making really good reads. I see her work on her game all the time, so it's great that everybody else is starting to see her work come to fruition on the court." (News Times)

The road trip ends Wednesday. The co-leaders play tonight. The standings will look different by morning.

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