WNBA Playoff Opener
Second-Seeded Golden State Valkyries Host Dallas Wings for First Playoff Win
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The second-seeded Golden State Valkyries open a best-of-three WNBA first-round series at home against the seventh-seeded Dallas Wings. Dallas enters after winning seven of its final eight games, led by Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale and Jessica Shepard, but Golden State swept the teams’ three regular-season meetings. The Valkyries finished 32-12, while Dallas went 27-17; Golden State will look to turn its strong regular-season defense into its first playoff win after being swept in the postseason last year.
Key Points
1
Dallas lost Azzi Fudd to season-ending knee surgery last month, but Paige Bueckers averaged 22.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.4 assists during the Wings’ 7-1 finish; Jessica Shepard averaged 16.9 points and 10.6 rebounds in that stretch.
2
Bueckers said she was “very excited” for her first WNBA postseason, calling playoff participation “what you play for.”
3
Golden State stumbled near the end of the regular season, losing at Portland before needing a late run to beat the Los Angeles Sparks. After that Sparks win, guard Veronica Burton said the team still had to “come out better,” while noting that playoff games would not be perfect.
4
Game 1 was scheduled for 6 p.m. at Chase Center, according to a preview by KCBS’s Jim Murphy and Warriors/Valkyries network coordinator Cam Williams.
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