LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Veronica Burton #22 of the Golden State Valkyries drives to the basket during the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on September 24, 2026 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
Notebook from 73-72 win against Sparks
LOS ANGELES — Well that was something!
The Valkyries were about 20 seconds away from having to deal with the Indiana Fever in the first round of the playoffs before Gabby Williams hit a 3, nabbed a steal and then got another 3 to win it. Now, the Valkyries will prepare for a series with the Dallas Wings, which begins on Sunday.
This was not a good season for the Sparks. If you want to read about what went wrong this season, I wrote about that for the LA Times here as well.
It was also Nneka Ogwumike’s last WNBA game. Former Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer was in attendance to see her star, and before the game, Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase touched on Ogwumike’s legacy.
“I don't know her personally, but I've only heard good things about Nneka and how she takes the time, whether it's younger players or players a similar age, like she just continues to help.”
Playoff sale! Get 33% off Valkyries Beat subscriptions through October
Subscribe to Valkyries Beat to read the rest.
Become a paying subscriber of Valkyries Beat to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.
UpgradeA subscription gets you:
- Access to Discord/community chat
- Access to several exclusive stories every week
- Discount code to The IX Sports
- Weekly reading list and mailbag