Latest news with #Valkyries
Fox Sports
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Ogunbowale leads Dallas against Golden State after 20-point game
Associated Press Dallas Wings (7-17, 3-10 Western Conference) at Golden State Valkyries (10-12, 5-8 Western Conference) San Francisco; Friday, 10 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Valkyries -5.5; over/under is 163 BOTTOM LINE: Dallas Wings faces the Golden State Valkyries after Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 points in the Wings' 87-63 victory over the Seattle Storm. The Valkyries are 5-8 against Western Conference opponents. Golden State ranks third in the WNBA with 9.4 offensive rebounds per game led by Temi Fagbenle averaging 2.2 offensive boards. The Wings are 3-10 against Western Conference opponents. Dallas is 3-8 in games decided by 10 or more points. Golden State scores 79.1 points per game, 6.7 fewer points than the 85.8 Dallas allows. Dallas has shot at a 41.7% clip from the field this season, 1.6 percentage points above the 40.1% shooting opponents of Golden State have averaged. The teams play for the second time this season. The Wings won the last meeting 80-71 on June 18. Paige Bueckers scored 20 points to help lead the Wings to the victory. TOP PERFORMERS: Kayla Thornton is averaging 14 points and seven rebounds for the Valkyries. Tiffany Hayes is averaging 13.8 points over the last 10 games. Bueckers is averaging 18.2 points, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals for the Wings. Aziaha James is averaging 12.2 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 40.0% over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Valkyries: 4-6, averaging 80.1 points, 38.0 rebounds, 18.9 assists, 5.0 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 40.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.1 points per game. Wings: 4-6, averaging 82.3 points, 37.9 rebounds, 20.4 assists, 7.0 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 41.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 84.4 points. INJURIES: Valkyries: None listed. Wings: Maddy Siegrist: out (knee), Tyasha Harris: out for season (knee). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. recommended Item 1 of 1
New York Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Liberty add veteran Stephanie Talbot as Emma Meesseman lingers in free agency
The Liberty are adding a veteran bench presence to kick off the second half of the season. Forward Stephanie Talbot is joining the defending WNBA champions, the team announced Monday, one week after she was waived by the Valkyries. Talbot, 31, reportedly signed a contract for the rest of the year. It reunites Talbot with her former Mercury coach and current Australian national team coach, Sandy Brondello, now in her fourth season as coach of the Liberty. 3 Stephanie Talbot (7) in action for the Valkyries in May 2025. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images 3 The Liberty announced in July 2025 they added Talbot. Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images The addition of Talbot — which brings the Liberty's roster back up to 12 players — comes while Emma Meesseman remains the league's most coveted free agent. 3 Emma Meesseman has drawn interest around the league ahead of the Talbot signing. AFP via Getty Images The Belgian forward, who spent the 2022 season with the Sky and currently plays professionally overseas, has drawn interest around the league, and the Liberty are considered to be among the front-runners for her services. The Liberty retain the salary-cap space to make a major signing, but now would need to clear a roster spot. The Lynx and Mercury also are believed to be in the running to potentially add Meesseman. In 16 games this season for Golden State, Talbot averaged 3.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Her last appearance with the Valkyries was on July 7. In the 90-81 loss to the Dream, Talbot scored two points in six minutes of playing time. Talbot, a 35.2 percent shooter from 3-point range in seven WNBA seasons, spent 2024 with the Sparks. The Liberty, currently 15-6 on the season, host the Fever on Tuesday night.
San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Will surprisingly competitive Valkyries be a buyer ahead of WNBA trade deadline?
The WNBA trade deadline is Aug. 7 and the Golden State Valkyries might enter it in a position few anticipated: as buyers. For an expansion team built primarily on short-term veteran contracts, many expected a selloff in order to stockpile future assets. But the Valkyries (10-12) will return to the court Friday after the All-Star break just one game out of a playoff spot. Whether that means staying the course or making a bold trade remains to be seen. But general manager Ohemaa Nyanin isn't ruling anything out. 'I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't evaluate talent,' Nyanin said. 'I travel with a team to be able to do that in person, being able to see what we've created and then using each game as an opportunity to evaluate other talent. I think where we're at right now is not being too hasty about any of the decisions that we need to make moving forward.' Upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations may complicate the trade market, but teams without playoff hopes could still be interested in shipping away veterans for draft picks. It's hard to say how much value each draft pick actually has, especially after WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert had no answers about an expansion draft format this offseason, but it opens the door to some possibilities. 'We know nothing,' Nyanin added. 'Regardless of whether we know now or in the next two months, decisions are still going to be hard. How you put your roster together as a result of an expansion team, everybody's going to have a different philosophy. So knowing the information now versus knowing it at the end of the season isn't really going to make that much of a difference.' The Valkyries have ample cap space. After the official midway point — which was July 14 — every contract became guaranteed, so cutting any player would not save any cap space. Golden State will already get a second-half reinforcement in stretch center Iliana Rupert, who joins the team after playing for France at EuroBasket. The 6-foot-5 big will give the Valkyries a much-needed size boost and ability to shoot from 3-point range. But the Valkyries have other issues to address, too. And if they were to fall out of the race quickly, plenty of teams would be willing to add someone like All-Star Kayla Thornton or Temi Fagbenle to their rotation. Golden State scores the fourth-fewest points per game (79.1) in the league, has the second-worst shooting (40.2%), second-worst 3-point shooting (30.7%), and fourth-fewest assists per game (18.4). They've upped their scoring in the past six games, but five of those have been losses. Adding a veteran scorer who is accustomed to taking the ball in late-game situations could alter the dynamic, if the Valkyries believe it is worth parting with a few draft picks to make a playoff run in their first season. Dallas guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is averaging 15.7 points on 34.6% from the field and 30.5% 3-point shooting, could be someone the Wings are willing to part with. The Valkyries could fit her $249,032 cap hit for the rest of the season. The Wings (6-17) have already been active, trading NaLyssa Smith to Las Vegas, but Ogwunbowale is in her seventh season with Dallas and has become the face of the franchise. Los Angeles All-Star guard Kelsey Plum is averaging 20.1 points per game, a career-high 5.8 assists, but the Sparks are 8-14 and in the midst of a rebuilding season. Veteran forward Tina Charles was a free agent target this offseason, but signed with Connecticut. The 36-year-old has scored 15.6 points per game in 28.8 minutes with the Sun, but the addition of Rupert could take Charles off the board. Golden State hasn't been afraid to make bold moves. It cut veteran forward Steph Talbot to make room for Rupert despite her guaranteed contract, and made the controversial choice to waive point guard Julie Vanloo following EuroBasket and faced criticism for letting second-round pick Shyanne Sellers go five days into the preseason. 'This has not been super enjoyable to be quite frank,' Nyanin said. 'I knew it was going to be hard, so it's a lesson in, you can't please everybody.' The Valkyries will play seven times before the trade deadline and most of the games can be considered winnable. In that stretch, Dallas (on Friday) and Atlanta (on July 29) are the only teams they have yet to beat and they can gain ground against Washington and Las Vegas — the current holders of the final two playoff spots. Golden State will play 11 games against sub-.500 opponents before facing a top-five team (Atlanta on Aug. 17).
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Storm's Nneka Ogwumike keeps rising through WNBA history books in win vs. Valkyries
The post Storm's Nneka Ogwumike keeps rising through WNBA history books in win vs. Valkyries appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Seattle Storm defeated the Golden State Valkyries 67-58 on Wednesday. The win brought the Storm closer to the Phoenix Mercury in the standings. Nneka Ogwumike scored 22 points, which was enough to push her past Candace Dupree for the sixth-most points in WNBA history. The Storm's All-Star guard is less than 500 points away from the top five behind Tamika Catchings. Ogwumike has averaged at least 13 points in every season of her 14-year career. While her climb through the all-time ranks has been slow, she is one of the best offensive players ever. She is third in all-time scoring among active players behind DeWanna Bonner and Tina Charles. At 35 years old, she could jump up a few spots. Dupree's 6,895 points held her within the top six of the all-time scoring list since she retired in 2021. However, she might not hold on to her current spot for much longer. New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart is well on her way through the rankings and could catch her. For now, she sits behind Ogwumike on the all-time list. Regardless of where she ends up all-time, Ogwumike's achievement is a big one. While she has been a great player for so long, she is also a member of the WNBA's Players' Association. She has been the president of the group since 2016. Ogwumike has been at the forefront of the WNBA's newest CBA negotiations. The new agreement will increase the salary cap and allow players across the league to be paid significantly more thanks to the lucrative media rights deal. Because of her efforts, Ogwumike is one of the most respected players in the league by its players. The All-Star guard continues to be one of the better scorers the league has to offer, even later in her career. Now that she has passed Dupree, she has her sights set on Catchings as she tries to climb even further up the ranks. Related: Noelle Quinn's brutally honest take about Storm's 'bad' starts Related: Skylar Diggins keeps Storm's block party going vs. Mystics
San Francisco Chronicle
16-07-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Valkyries' offense at its worst as first half ends with road loss to Storm
SEATTLE — The Golden State Valkyries are limping into the break for the All-Star Game. In their lowest-scoring game of their inaugural season, the Valkyries fell 67-58 in Seattle on Wednesday, their third straight loss and fifth in six games. After toppling the Storm twice in June at Chase Center, Golden State struggled to generate any offense at Climate Pledge Arena despite holding Seattle to one of its worst scoring games of the season as well. The Valkyries (10-12) fell to 3-8 on the road. Golden State shot 24.2% in the second half (including a 3-for-19 effort from distance) and scored just 27 points. The Storm went three minutes in the fourth quarter without a basket, but the Valkyries tallied just 14 points in that frame. Neither team scored more than 19 points in any quarter. The Valkyries held Seattle to 32.8% shooting with their zone defense, a tactic that has previously given the Storm trouble. But Golden State's offense struggled to get into a rhythm and shot 31.7%, its worst showing of the season. Golden State shot 40.7% in the first half to be knotted 31-31 with Seattle (14-9) at the break. But the Valkyries opened the third quarter by missing 10 of their first 11 shots and went scoreless for four minutes as the Storm went ahead by seven. Tiffany Hayes and Cecilia Zandalasini hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the fourth to make it a two-point contest, 54-52. The Valkyries never got any closer despite Seattle shooting 23.1% in the fourth. Storm 67, Valkyries 58 FG FT Reb GOLDEN STATE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS Salaün 13:59 3-9 3-4 0-4 0 0 10 Thornton 24:48 1-9 2-2 0-4 2 4 4 Fágbénlé 25:34 2-2 0-0 2-4 1 5 5 Burton 31:26 3-9 2-2 1-8 4 3 8 Hayes 20:17 1-3 0-0 0-2 1 2 3 Zandalasini 25:22 3-10 4-4 1-4 0 4 12 Leite 15:59 2-5 0-0 0-0 2 2 5 Martin 15:12 1-7 0-0 0-4 2 1 3 Chen 12:19 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 Amihere 9:20 1-2 2-4 1-4 1 0 4 Billings 5:44 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 2 Totals 200:00 19-60 13-16 5-35 13 24 58 Percentages: FG .317, FT .813. 3-Point Goals: 7-31, .226 (Zandalasini 2-8, Fágbénlé 1-1, Hayes 1-2, Leite 1-3, Salaün 1-4, Martin 1-6, Amihere 0-1, Chen 0-1, Thornton 0-2, Burton 0-3). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 3. Blocked Shots: 5 (Burton, Fágbénlé, Leite, Thornton, Zandalasini). Turnovers: 11 (Burton 4, Martin 3, Hayes, Leite, Thornton, Zandalasini). Steals: 2 (Fágbénlé, Martin). Technical Fouls: None. Percentages: FG .328, FT .818. 3-Point Goals: 7-29, .241 (Brown 2-4, Wheeler 2-8, Magbegor 1-1, Mitchell 1-2, Ogwumike 1-7, Williams 0-3, Diggins 0-4). Team Rebounds: 14. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 4 (Magbegor 2, Diggins, Ogwumike). Turnovers: 7 (Diggins 2, Williams 2, Clark, Magbegor, Ogwumike). Steals: 7 (Williams 2, Clark, Magbegor, Mitchell, Ogwumike, Wheeler). Technical Fouls: None. Golden State 15 16 13 14 — 58 Seattle 14 17 17 19 — 67 A_12,500 (15,354). T_2:07. The Valkyries got 28 points from the bench, led by 12 from Zandalasini, while head coach Natalie Nakase rested the starters more than she has over the most recent stretch. Kayla Thornton played just under 25 minutes and Hayes 20:17. Janelle Salaün, who scored 10 points, played just 13:59 — none in the fourth quarter. Nneka Ogwumike scored 22 points for the Storm and Erica Wheeler had 15, including six on back-to-back treys early in the third quarter. The Valkyries are off until July 25 when they host Dallas. The All-Star Game is Saturday in Indianapolis; Thornton is the lone Golden State representative.
