In the middle of the fourth quarter on Saturday night, the Golden State Valkyries trailed the Washington Mystics by six. With their franchise-record winning streak in peril, they leaned on their foundation. Over the final six minutes, the Valkyries held the Mystics to 2 of 8 shooting and forced three turnovers as they closed the game on a 15-4 run to secure their ninth win in a row.
Now 19-7, the Valkyries have already nearly matched their win total from last season (23). And thanks to the longest winning streak in the league this season, they’ve surged into second place, just one game behind the Minnesota Lynx.
Key free-agent signing Gabby Williams has given their offense some much-needed juice, and their 3-point shooting (34.6%) has been much better than last season (32.5%). But the Valkyries’ success starts on the defensive end, where they overwhelm teams with their size, physicality and depth.
During this nine-game winning streak, they’ve allowed more than 75 points just once, and boast an absurd 93.7 defensive rating. During a July 6 contest, they held the Mystics to 49 points – the fewest scored by a team this season and just the fourth time in the 2020s that a team has failed to reach 50 points.
For the season, the Valkyries are now:
- 1st in defensive rating (100.3)
- 1st in points allowed (75.1)
- 1st in opponent points per possession (0.883)
- 1st in opponent effective field goal percentage (48.1%)
- 3rd in opponent turnover rate (19.2%)
- 1st in opponent points in the paint (32.2)
- 1st in opponent points off turnovers (12.1)
- 1st in attempts allowed in the restricted area (15.3)
- 1st in opponent restricted area field goal percentage (56.8%)
There are still questions about the Valkyries’ offense. They’re eighth in offensive rating (107.7), which is the second-worst mark of any team currently in playoff position and last in field goal percentage (41.9%). But so far, their defense has been so good that it hasn’t mattered. Every game against the Valkyries is going to be a war.
“Our defense is something that’s all effort and sort of a mental thing, so it’s something that you can control,” Kaitlyn Chen said earlier this month. “We take pride in our defense. … It’s something that we put all our focus into every game.
“If we can’t score, they can’t score.”
Here are CBS Sports’ latest WNBA Power Rankings:
1. Golden State Valkyries (19-7)
The Valkyries ran their winning streak to nine games – the longest in franchise history and the longest in the league this season – with victories over the Fever and Mystics and have now taken sole possession of second place. Their defense continues to dominate. They’ve given up more than 75 points just once during the winning streak and now have the best defensive rating in the league (100.3).
2. Dallas Wings (17-8)
The Wings beat the Sparks in their lone outing this week – their matchup with the Liberty was postponed due to travel issues – to extend their winning streak to six games. But amid the celebrations of their longest winning streak since moving to Dallas in 2016, there was concern about All-Star guard Paige Bueckers, who left Sunday’s contest after a scary collision with Nneka Ogwumike. Bueckers appeared to hit her head on the floor, and her status moving forward is unclear.
3. Minnesota Lynx (20-6)
The Lynx haven’t won a game by double digits since June 17, but they keep finding a way to get the job done, thanks in large part to Kayla McBride, who has made her case to be an injury replacement at the All-Star Game should one be necessary. Her 37 points in their win over the Mercury were the second-most of her career, and she’s averaging 26.6 points on 56.8/47.5/93.8 shooting splits during their five-game winning streak, which has allowed them to maintain a tenuous hold on first place in the standings.
4. Indiana Fever (16-10)
Caitlin Clark stole the headlines again this week. First, for an outburst at the officials in a loss to the Valkyries. And then, for a brilliant 45-point, 10-assist effort in a win over the Storm – the first 40-point, 10-assist game in WNBA history. But Kelsey Mitchell, who had a season-high 33 in their win over the Liberty, has been the steady source of offense for the Fever during their mid-season turnaround. Mitchell is averaging 27.3 points on 51.7/50/87.9 shooting splits over the last 10 games, and the Fever are 7-3 in that stretch. Her 10 consecutive 20-point games is the eighth-longest such streak ever.
5. Las Vegas Aces (17-7)
The Aces did not play this week and enjoyed an extremely rare full week off. Thanks to this schedule quirk and the upcoming All-Star break, they’ll play just twice from July 13-27.
6. Atlanta Dream (16-10)
The Dream finally snapped out of their mid-season slump. Brionna Jones made her season debut on Friday against the Tempo and Jordin Canada hit a buzzer beater Sunday against the Sky to run their winning streak to three games. It was not all good vibes in Atlanta this week, however. Angel Reese was on the receiving end of an “inappropriate comment” from Tempo coach Sandy Brondello, and left their win over the Sky with a leg injury. Her left knee appeared to buckle on a drive to the basket, and her status moving forward remains unclear.
7. New York Liberty (13-12)
Nothing is going right for the Liberty these days. They were stuck on the tarmac for 12 hours Wednesday due to mechanical issues with their plane, and eventually had their game against the Wings postponed. When they finally got back on the court, they blew an early 13-point lead to the Fever and lost by 20. They’re now on a season-long four-game losing streak and are 2-8 in their last 10 games. “We’re in the trenches, and we can either keep sinking or we can dig ourselves out,” Breanna Stewart said.
8. Portland Fire (11-15)
The Fire have stabilized things after a mid-season slump, but haven’t been able to string any results together. In fact, they’ve alternated wins and losses in their last seven games. Megan Gustafson, who is having a career season, missed their last two games for her wedding. Amid the lengthy CBA negotiations in the offseason, she tried to schedule it for All-Star Weekend but ended up being a week off. She will return to the court as Megan DiLeo.
9. Connecticut Sun (7-19)
The Sun picked up two more wins this week and are now 5-4 since their 2-15 start. Over those nine games, they have a plus-4.2 net rating, which ranks fifth in the league and is better than the Lynx in that span. Their defense has been incredible during this turnaround. They’re third in both opponent effective field goal percentage (47.7%) and opponent turnover rate (19.6%) in their last nine games.
10. Washington Mystics (12-12)
There have been eight games this season in which a team failed to score 60 points. The Mystics are now responsible for three of them after putting up just 56 in a defeat to the Fire. They also own three of the four lowest point totals by a team. The Mystics turned the ball over 20 times in that loss to Portland, and now have five games with at least 20 turnovers – the most in the league. Their 20.9% turnover rate ranks last.
11. Chicago Sky (9-17)
The Sky’s victories over the Storm and Sparks were just the third time they’ve recorded back-to-back wins, which tells you all you need to know about their season. Skylar Diggins, who caused a fuss over being benched earlier this month, remains sidelined with a knee injury and does not have a timeline for her return. “All I can say is I’ve been progressing day by day,” Diggins said this week.
12. Phoenix Mercury (9-18)
“We kind of are who we are right now, right?” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said amid the Mercury’s five-game losing streak. “This is our reality.” While his team finally ended that skid with a win over the Sun, the Mercury’s reality is that they’re a lottery team. They’re the only team in the bottom-five in offensive rating (104, 12th), defensive rating (108.6, 12th) and net rating (minus-4.6, 11th).
13. Toronto Tempo (10-15)
The Tempo suffered two more defeats this week and are now 1-6 in their last seven games. To make matters worse, coach Sandy Brondello was suspended for one game – she’ll serve the punishment Monday against the Aces – for saying Angel Reese was a “protected species” during their loss to the Dream. Brondello has since issued an apology to Reese, saying she was “deeply” sorry for using the phrase, which is common in Australia.
14. Los Angeles Sparks (10-15)
The Sparks had a brutal road trip this week that saw them play four games in seven days, including two in the afternoon. They lost all four of them to fall two and a half games out of the playoff race and now have three losing streaks of at least three games this season. Amid the losing, there was something to celebrate, however. Against the Sky, Nneka Ogwumike passed Lisa Leslie to become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. Of her 7,720 points, which rank fourth on the all-time list, 6,298 of them have come with the Sparks.
15. Seattle Storm (6-21)
Two more narrow defeats this week for the Storm, who have lost four in a row and continue to struggle in late-game situations. Ten of their 21 losses have come by five points or fewer, and they’re a league-worst 1-10 in clutch games. Full clutch stats are available dating back to 2006. The Storm’s .091 winning percentage in clutch games would be the second-worst all-time, behind only the 2012 Tulsa Shock (.077).
