WNBA Playoffs Game 1: Lynx rout Valkyries 101–72; what flipped the game and what’s next

Lynx surge past Valkyries after slow start

The scoreline says blowout, but the night started with a jolt. Golden State walked into Minneapolis and punched first, ripping an 11–4 opening run and owning the arc in the first quarter. Veronica Burton drilled two early threes, the Valkyries went 5-for-8 from deep, and the top-seeded Lynx clanked their way to 8-for-20 shooting. It was 28–21 Golden State after one, and the building felt edgy.

Then the best team in the league remembered who it is. Minnesota throttled the next three quarters 80–44 and ran away 101–72 to take a 1–0 series lead. Napheesa Collier set the tone with 20 efficient points on 7-of-11 shooting, cashing all five free throws and grabbing six boards. She didn’t chase shots; she hunted mismatches, sealed early, and made quick reads whenever help arrived.

This wasn’t a one-woman show. Minnesota’s depth showed up on schedule, with five in double figures. Natisha Hiedeman’s 18 felt like a pressure valve—timely threes, smart cuts, the kind of pop that punishes slow rotations. Kayla McBride’s 17 came in rhythm. Jessica Shepard muscled through the paint for 12 and eight rebounds, and Courtney Williams turned defense into daylight with 11 points and four steals. It’s the balance that has defined Minnesota’s year: options at every spot and no panic button required.

Golden State got 14 apiece from Burton and Cecilia Zandalasini, 13 and eight boards from Janelle Salaün, and 12 from Temi Fágbénlé before she fouled out. The pieces were there in the first quarter—spacing, ball movement, activity on the glass—but the turnovers piled up. Burton’s seven giveaways mirrored the team’s 16, and Minnesota turned those mistakes into pace, paint touches, and easy points. Against a top seed with elite two-way metrics, that math is unforgiving.

The shift was as much about control as it was about shot-making. Minnesota tightened the arc, chased shooters off the line, and forced Golden State into later-clock looks. Help rotated on time, and tags on cutters took away the early actions that sprang open in the first 12 minutes. On the other end, the Lynx stopped settling. They worked inside-out, drew contact, and flowed into secondary actions that put Golden State in scramble mode.

That’s where foul trouble bit. Fágbénlé’s whistles changed the Valkyries’ interior presence, and forward Iliana Rupert’s physical work on the glass came with quick fouls. Afterward, head coach Natalie Nakase voiced her frustration and picked up a technical during the game arguing calls. “When Iliana Rupert is trying to fight for the rebound and she’s getting called for a foul on a rebound, it takes our aggression away,” she said. Yet the numbers were basically level: Minnesota finished with 23 team fouls and 24 free throw attempts; Golden State had 22 and 27, respectively. The whistle didn’t decide the night—Minnesota’s sustained control did.

Context matters here. The Lynx entered with the league’s best offensive and defensive ratings and played like it after the first quarter. They turned live-ball stops into runouts and kept Golden State off balance by mixing coverages on Burton. When the Valkyries tried to counter with Zandalasini’s shot creation, Minnesota met her at the nail, showed a second defender on the catch, and lived with contested twos. The result: fewer clean threes and more empty trips.

For a debut postseason, Golden State’s first 12 minutes were a blueprint—organized, fearless, and fast. The problem was everything after. Execution frayed as the Lynx dialed up pressure. Minnesota’s veteran backcourt read the game calmly, hunted favorable switches, and refused to let the pace be dictated by missed shots. The difference showed in the middle quarters when the Lynx layered stops with patient, high-percentage offense.

Adjustments, officiating ripple, and Game 2 in San Jose

The series shifts to the SAP Center on Wednesday with the Valkyries needing answers on their home floor. Do they lean into smaller lineups for more spacing, or double down on size to contest the glass? Their path back starts with ball security and shot quality early in the clock, before Minnesota can load up its defense.

Coach Nakase’s officiating concerns will linger into the prep. Fouls were nearly even, but perception matters when you play through contact. Expect Golden State to emphasize verticality at the rim and body control on the boards to avoid the quick whistles that hampered Fágbénlé. If the staff wants to keep her available deeper into the second half, staggered minutes and early timeouts could help navigate foul waves.

On the Minnesota side, there’s no reason to overcomplicate a winning formula. Keep touching the paint. Trust the extra pass. Make Burton work through length at the point of attack. If the Lynx continue to balance post touches for Collier with perimeter aggression from Hiedeman and McBride, they’ll keep Golden State in rotation and pile up clean looks. The key is discipline: no cheap fouls that feed the Valkyries’ set offense and keep the crowd in it.

What should fans watch for on Wednesday?

• Turnovers at the point of attack: If Burton trims the giveaways, Golden State’s offense breathes. If not, Minnesota’s transition game slams the door again.
• Foul navigation for Golden State’s bigs: Keeping Fágbénlé and Rupert on the floor changes the rebounding battle and the rim deterrence.
• Perimeter containment of Hiedeman/McBride: One clean early burst from either guard can tilt the game’s rhythm.
• Collier’s usage: Touches don’t have to be high volume; they need to be high leverage—elbow catches, duck-ins, and short-roll decisions.
• Three-point variance: Golden State’s hot first quarter from deep was real. Can they replicate that with better second- and third-quarter looks?

There’s also the mental piece. The Valkyries are in their first postseason, and the nerves showed once the Lynx accelerated. A steadier tempo and simpler reads—early drag screens, quick pitches to Zandalasini, slot cuts to punish stunts—can lower the degree of difficulty. Defensively, one timely tweak could be occasional zone taps to slow Minnesota’s half-court rhythm and buy a possession or two for foul-plagued bigs.

For Minnesota, the trap is comfort. Game 1 turned emphatic, but it tilted on the margins: better closeouts, cleaner transition defense, and stronger decisions with the ball. Replicate the urgency from the second quarter onward and the Lynx stay in control. Lose it, and Golden State’s shot-making can change the series tone fast.

The stakes are simple in a best-of-three: Wednesday is the Valkyries’ chance to reset this thing on their home court. The Lynx will walk in as favorites, and they’ve earned it. But this is the WNBA Playoffs. One hot quarter can flip a game. Golden State had that burst in Minneapolis. They’ll need two or three of them in San Jose to extend their inaugural run.