After a rough first half, the Phoenix Mercury tightened up their defense after the break and picked up a vital road win against the shorthanded Golden State Valkyries.

The Valkyries are the biggest surprise of the 2025 WNBA season, but a few key adjustments could seal their first-ever playoff berth.

San Francisco Standard columnist Tim Kawakami went to Sunday’s Valkyries game and reported on the fan atmosphere at Chase Center, which he said was “thrumming” even in the team’s worst home loss of the season. But buried in his reporting were two paragraphs about a brewing scheduling conflict with the Laver Cup, an international tennis tournament:

It’s beginning to feel a lot like the postseason. The WNBA has less than one month before the start of the playoffs, and the intensity kicked up a notch last week. Whether it was teams recognizing how little time is left to solidify playoff positioning or the aided boost of Rivals Week matchups,

The Golden State Valkyries' inaugural season has been one of the most successful expansion endeavors in recent American sports history. Not only are the Valkyri

The Mercury had some defensive help from Monique Akoa Makani in the 98-91 win over the Valkyries on Tuesday. SAN FRANCISCO– Monique Akoa Makani might not get the glitz and glamour that her teammates do. However, the Phoenix Mercury rookie has been a constant throughout the entire season.

In the Valkyries’ win over the Las Vegas Aces on June 7, Burton recorded the highest single-game plus-minus rating with a +40. A few games later, Burton drew the assignment of guarding Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark and held her to 11 points on 3-for-14 shooting and 0-for-7 from the 3-point line.

The Golden State Valkyries may only be in their first year of existence as a franchise, but they've already set the mark for the highest average attendance in t