There’s a long way to go in the WNBA season, but the question begs asking: Are the expansion Golden State Valkyries a playoff team?
Their 7-6 record already includes wins over Las Vegas, Seattle and Indiana — three teams with impressive veteran-laden rosters. And if the postseason started today, Golden State would be part of the eight-team playoff field.
The Valkyries have a chance to add another impressive win to their ledger Wednesday night when the New York Liberty make their first visit to San Francisco.
Golden State is coming off Sunday’s 87-63 rout of Connecticut that pushed the Valkyries above the .500 mark. Kayla Thornton scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Valkyries, who rolled into halftime with a commanding 59-32 lead and finished the game with a 51-35 rebounding advantage.
Golden State leads the league in rebounding and is third in steals, allowing it to make up for being a poor shooting team. It’s tied for 11th in field goal percentage (39.8) and last in 3-point percentage (27.5).
“That’s hustle. That’s heart. That’s the type of energy that we need in order to elevate us to No. 1 on defense,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said.
As for New York (10-3), it’s experiencing its first tough stretch of the season. Sunday’s 89-79 loss in Seattle was its third defeat in four games. The Liberty played without three starters, including Jonquel Jones (ankle) and Sabrina Ionescu (neck).
Jones is out for at least another month but Ionescu is considered day-to-day and could return for Wednesday’s game. New York clearly missed her against Seattle, which forced 21 turnovers and cashed them in for 22 points.
“We have to embrace the adversity a little bit,” Liberty forward Breanna Stewart said. “There’s things that we can control like turnovers and really (doing) a good job with the group that we have right now. This isn’t going to be the hardest thing that we face all season.”
New York swept a two-game home series with Golden State in late May, winning 95-67 and 82-77.
–Field Level Media
