WNBA playoffs: Valkyries show heart and smarts as historic season ends with nail-biting loss to No. 1 Lynx

The top-seeded Minnesota Lynx survived a valiant effort by the No. 8 Golden State Valkyries with a 75-74 comeback victory on Wednesday night, winning their first-round series, 2-0, and advancing to the semifinals where they will face the winner of the New York/Phoenix series.

But while the Lynx's championship hopes live on, Wednesday night was all about the Valkyries, who capped off the best season for an expansion team in WNBA history with a gritty performance that will be remembered in the Bay Area and beyond for a long time.

After the Lynx beat the Valkyries four times during the regular season and took Game 1 with a decisive 101-72 win, they were heavily favored to win Game 2 convincingly. However, Golden State was the most dominant team for most of Wednesday's game.

The Valkyries entered halftime with a 41-28 lead. The 28 points were the fewest for the Lynx in a first half through their 2025 campaign. That was no easy achievement as Minnesota had the strongest offense in the league during the regular season, but the Valkyries took control of the rhythm early in the game by speeding up their opponents to make scoring more difficult. Though both teams had a comparable number of turnovers, Golden State was capitalizing more on Minnesota's mistakes. The Valkyries were also particularly impressive from beyond the arc, going 7 of 11 in the first two quarters.

"We're not just playing with our hearts tonight, we're playing with our minds. We want to be the smarter team tonight," Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase told ESPN before the second half tipped off.

The momentum started shifting after the break as Minnesota opened the third quarter with an 11-0 run. However, Golden State still won that period, 22-21.

The Lynx's first lead since the first quarter was 71-70 after a two-pointer by Kayla McBride with 2:48 left in the game. On the next possession, Natisha Hiedeman had a big steal to disrupt Golden State.

The Valkyries weren't able to host at Chase Center due to a conflict of schedule, but the team sold out the SAP Center in San Jose for Game 2. The crowd was loud all 40 minutes, particularly in the last minute when either team had a chance to win it.

Courtney Williams made a clutch jump shot for Minnesota with under 30 seconds remaining, but the Valkyries responded with a 3-pointer via Cecilia Zandalasini. Time was running out as the Lynx held a 75-74 advantage, but the Valkyries got another opportunity. They opted not to foul and Minnesota was called for a shot clock violation with four seconds left.

The Valkyries' gameplan was difficult to execute as McBride intentionally committed a foul with 2.8 seconds on the clock. Although Golden State had possession again, the Lynx defense held on.

"We know what we made of," Lynx star Napheesa Collier said during her postgame interview. "We've been here before, we have the experience, we know how tough and gritty it is to win in situations like this. To come back from that, in that way, in this environment, I'm really proud of us."

It took a solid performance on both sides of the court for Minnesota to outscore the Valkyries, 26-11, in the fourth quarter. Collier was proud of her team while also giving credit to Golden State for such a competitive fight.

"It's incredible what they've done here. That team is so, so hard working and it was a tough game," Collier said.

The Valkyries didn't advance, but they already made history as the first expansion team in WNBA history to make the playoffs. Their incredible season did not go unrecognized as Nakase was named Coach of the Year and Veronica Burton received Most Improved Player honors this week.

"So proud. That's the first thing I said," Nakase told reporters after the game. "No. 1, I said, 'get your f-----g heads up'. I said, 'get your heads up.' They were down. I said, 'I want everyone's eye contact. I want to feel every person right now. And I want your emotions, I want your heart, I want everything.' Everyone looked up and I just told them how proud I was. To have that place rocking tonight, to have that Ballhalla mentality, to be able to go toe-and-toe to the No. 1 team, I was so proud."