Warriors

Valkyries’ Shocking And-1 Miracle Stuns WNBA in Historic Playoff Push

By skynews • September 5, 2025

SAN FRANCISCO — It was the culmination of a season that has defied reason. The Golden State Valkyries needed one big basket to lock up a playoff spot. One clutch play to make history. A climax for the phenomenon in the Bay Area. The fitting author: Veronica Burton.

Burton drove down the right side of the paint and planted her shoulder into the defender, as she so deftly does. She absorbed the bump and went for the tough fall-away shot. The whistle blew. The runner banked in off the glass. The point guard screamed “And-1!” from the depths of her soul.

“I felt like I blacked out in the moment,” Burton said.

And Ballhalla had a new crescendo. A violet eruption.

Burton’s 3-point play punctuated an 84-80 win over the Dallas Wings and kicked off a party. On behalf of the team they’ve fallen in love with. On behalf of women’s hoop-lovers in this region who’ve been waiting decades for this. On behalf of a Bay Area culture that deserved to be part of this WNBA movement.

Golden State’s fifth consecutive win clinched a playoff spot. The Valkyries are the first expansion team in league history to qualify for the playoffs in its inaugural season. Another highlight for a franchise that can’t seem to miss.

“The crowd was unbelievable tonight,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “I couldn’t hear anything.”

Well, actually …

The Valkyries’ reward for their feat is a home playoff game on a foreign court. Golden State will host Game 2 in the first-round series, either Sept. 16 or 17, against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. But it will be in San Jose at the SAP Center. That’s a big miss.

“While we would have loved to host our first playoff game at Chase Center and sought every opportunity to try and make that happen,” Valkyries president Jess Smith said in a statement, “Ballhalla has never been about just one building — it’s about the incredible community our fans have created. We’re confident that same energy will translate to San Jose.”

Chase Center will host the Laver Cup from Sept. 19 to 21. It’s an annual men’s indoor tournament featuring the best six tennis players from Europe against the six best players from the rest of the world. Team sources said it’s been on the Chase Center docket for two years, before Golden State was awarded a franchise.

The arena is unavailable on either Sept. 16 or 17, dates selected by the WNBA, because the Laver Cup requires a restructuring of Chase Center, which requires more time for set up and makes it harder to move. The Valkyries’ regular-season home finale on Sept. 6 is the last event in the arena before the Laver Cup.

If the Valkyries make it to the second round, the expectation is they will host games at Chase Center. Golden State, as the lower seed, would likely host Game 3 on Sept. 26 and Game 4, if necessary, on Sept. 28.

“We have faith in our fans,” Burton said, “that they’re going to continue to show out for us.”

Knowing Thursday could be the pinnacle at Ballhalla this season only made the moment more savory.

This team of misfits, castoffs, undrafted rookies and overlooked veterans jelled as the season grew. The Valkyries haven’t had a fully healthy stretch all season — Tiffany Hayes is out now, Kayla Thornton is out for the season, Monique Billings just returned from an extended absence — and signed three players to hardship contracts. Kaila Charles signed three of them before getting a full contract and is now in the regular rotation.

It’s been the kind of gritty, underdog season Bay Area fans adore. The Valkyries have drawn a different audience from the one that usually brings a wealthy, corporate vibe to this same arena. The Golden State fans in black and violet get even louder, live on the edge of raucous, and dance like no one’s watching, whether the music Mac Dre or Rihanna. They have enough to push this team when it needs.

Golden State needed it Thursday.

“I told them,” Nakase said, “this game is going to be the hardest of the season.”

The Valkyries played a nervous first half. The emotion of the moment, the intensity of the precipice on which they stood, seemed to rob them of their edge. They’ve carved out this surprising season with their aggressiveness, their toughness, their connectedness. But the brink of history can rattle the best of ‘em. So can four games in six nights.

“The coach just yelled at us,” said Janelle Salaün, the rookie from France. “And we woke up.”

Late in the third quarter, the women of violet found their groove. Down 13, rookie guard Carla Leite started the run with a three-point play on a runner in the lane. After a stop, Leite found Kate Martin for a transition 3. Ballhalla erupted, sensing the start of a comeback.

It was up from there. The Valkyries were back. Scrappy and opportunistic, undeterred by mistakes or bouts with futility. Always forward. Diverse in attack.

Leite continued applying pressure with her penetration. With Burton struggling, the French point guard had the juice this night. A drive-and-kick by Leite set up a 3-pointer by Salaün that put the Valkyiries up for the first time in the game, 63-62, with 8:31 remaining.

Ballhalla gets riled up for everything. Charges. Layups. Hustle plays. But nothing gets it rocking like three-pointers. Especially bombs from Salaün and Kate Martin. A reality their teammates notice.

This massive one by Salaün — her second of three en route to 19 points — was set up by the aggression of Leite, who became the attacker that moved Dallas’ defense.

“Unguardable,” Burton said of Leite. “I fully believe that. I’ve tried to guard her. She’s really difficult to stop. And this is a big moment.”

You know who else was unguardable? Paige Bueckers, the runaway for Rookie of the Year and already one of the best in the league.

Burton put the Valkyries up 72-70 with a driving layup. A minute later, Bueckers drew a foul on Burton and banked in the midrange jumper. The Wings led by two after her free throw.

Salaün tied the game with a pair of free throws. Then a 21-footer by Leite put the Valkyries up 74-72 with 2:26 remaining.

The intensity turned up another notch. The physicality reached postseason levels. Dallas, long out of the postseason race, played with nothing to lose and sensed a rare win. The pressure was on the Valkyries to answer the moment.

They won it with defense, holding the Wings scoreless on seven shots over a span of 3:15 after Bueckers’ three-point play. They won it with depth, having shuffled nine players in and out while the wings rode their best five all night.

They won it because the magic that’s been hovering all season was destined to produce something epic. This season was worthy of a watershed memory.

“Honestly, it is just remarkable,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob said, smiling as he shook his head, trying to express it all. “It’s just fantastic. First of all, selling out every game. But secondly, winning. Does it get any better as an expansion team? It’s pretty great. And the fans are having so much fun. I’m having fun. It’s just unbelievable.”

(Top photo of Veronica Burton: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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