Valkyries Host Wings Monday, One Win From Playoff Clinch
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- Golden State Valkyries (24-9) host the Dallas Wings Monday at 10 ET on a five-game winning streak, sitting in the No. 2 seed with a magic number of one to clinch a playoff spot
- Dallas Wings (20-15) are in the No. 8 spot and just a half-game behind No. 7 Washington, but the article notes Portland is five games back in ninth and Dallas is unlikely to fall out of the top eight
- Paige Bueckers put up 29 points, six rebounds and six assists in Friday's double-digit loss at Indiana, her sixth game with at least 25/5/5 this season (second-most in the league), and is expected to carry the offense again with Azzi Fudd still out
- Azzi Fudd (No. 1 overall pick) remains sidelined with a knee injury and Dallas is 1-3 this season without her, including 0-1 against Golden State after a 94-76 road loss on Aug. 7
- Kiah Stokes is cleared from concussion protocol and returns to the starting lineup Monday, while leading bench scorer Janelle Salaün (13.3 PPG) is questionable with right knee soreness
- Tiffany Hayes scored a season-high 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting off the bench in Wednesday's blowout of Chicago — the first player in WNBA history to post 20+ points, 6+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 3+ steals in under 20 minutes — as Golden State set a franchise record with 16 steals and 49 bench points
- Jessica Shepard (14.2 PPG, 11.4 RPG) is iffy with an ankle injury and is the -210 favorite at BetMGM for WNBA Most Improved Player of the Year
Why it matters: Golden State can clinch a playoff berth with one more win and is essentially locked into a top-three seed behind Minnesota, while Dallas is fighting to hold No. 7 or No. 8 and is 1-3 without injured rookie Azzi Fudd — meaning every remaining game for both sides carries real seeding weight ahead of a bracket that could put Bueckers and the Wings back in front of the league's hottest team in Round 1.
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