Storm Knock Off Valkyries 74-73, Clinch Playoff Spot

Seattle beat Golden State in the final seconds to clinch their playoff berth.

By Jack Norris

(Seattle, Washington) - In the lower 100 section of Climate Pledge Arena, there is a wraparound scoreboard that shows live scores of WNBA games going on across the country. With 37.4 seconds left in the Storm’s regular season, Iliana Rupert drained a three that gave the Valkyries a one-point lead. At the same time, the wraparound scoreboard showed the LA Sparks holding a commanding lead on the Phoenix Mercury with little time remaining in their game. If these results had held, the Storm’s playoff hopes would have boiled down to rooting for an Aces win over a desperate Sparks team.  It felt as if the Storm’s second-half slow-burning collapse was headed toward a disappointing yet unbelievably climactic end. 

For a team with veterans like Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, and Brittney Sykes, it was an unlikely hero for the Storm (23-21) that drained the biggest shot of the season and prevented this monumental collapse from unfolding.

With 19.2 seconds left, Erica Wheeler drove to her right, stopped at the free throw line, and nailed a 16-foot jumper, clinching a playoff berth for the Storm and handing the Valkyries (23-20) their second straight loss.

It may not have been pretty with the Storm shooting just 40.6% (26-64) on the night, but when the team needed it, they got it, particularly in the fourth quarter, where they shot 53.8% (7-13). The previous two games saw the Storm collapse in the fourth, allowing their opponents back into games that at one point the Storm felt comfortable. It was on the biggest stage that the Storm were able to reverse that trend and outscore the Valkyries 21-12 in the final frame, sealing a playoff spot in front of their fans.

What the Storm will accomplish in this year's playoffs no one knows, but the star of the night, Erica Wheeler, said it best, “It’s 0-0, may the best man win.”

Golden State Valkyries

The Valkyries entered tonight's contest winners of five of their last six. Their most recent game, however, was a loss at home to the Minnesota Lynx. Janelle Salaun did the heavy lifting for the Valkyries’ offense, contributing 22 points, shooting 61.5% (8-13) from the field, including a remarkable 5-7 from beyond the arc. She was followed by Temi Fagbenle, who had 14 points, shooting 6-13 from the field. The Valkyries would have felt coming into the game that they could gain advantages on the boards and in the paint, against a Storm team that had struggled recently in those areas. The Storm outrebounded the Valkyries 37-35 and tied in paint points 30-30. Despite lights-out shooting from Salaun and Fagbenle, the Valkyries’ offense was largely held in check. Golden State had just five points contributed from their bench, a major issue on a night where the Storm bench contributed 26 points.

The Valkyries had already clinched a playoff spot ahead of tonight's game and have one more game left in their inaugural regular season, against the Minnesota Lynx. Depending on the outcome of their final game, the Valkyries may look back on this game as one that got away and potentially cost them seeding in the playoffs.

Game Breakdown

Nneka Ogwumike got the game started with a jumper. Veronica Burton answered with a quick layup on the other end. Kaila Charles added another layup for the Valkyries. The Storm were able to get to the line early with a pair of free throws made by Brittney Sykes and Skylar Diggins. Temi Fagbenle broke the ice from beyond the arc with a three-ball. Malonga added a bucket for the Storm after a nifty pass from Sykes. Iliana Rupert nailed a three to extend the Valkyries’ lead to six at the first TV timeout. Dominique Malonga followed up a layup on one end with a shutdown defensive stop on the other. The first quarter ended on a two-minute scoreless run by both sides. 

The second quarter began with a jumper by Gabby Williams after a pair of empty possessions from both teams. Erica Wheeler followed up a Fagbenle jumper with a three-pointer, cutting the Valkyries’ lead to three and forcing a timeout from Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase. The Storm forced a turnover out of the timeout and followed that up with a three-ball from Ezi Magbegor, tying the game at 20. Nneka picked up an offensive rebound off of her own miss and converted one of two free throws, giving the Storm their first lead since the opening bucket. A Burton AND1 and Salaun three-ball gave the Valkyries a five-point lead with three minutes to go in the first half. Nneka hit a jumper, and Sykes converted two free throws to cut the Valkyries’ lead to one. A bad foul by Erica Wheeler reaching in with 0.8 seconds left in the half gifted the Valkyrie two points and a three-point lead, 36-33 at the break.

The Storm offense was inefficient in the first half, shooting just 38.7% (12-31). Thankfully, the Storm defense held the Valkyries to an equally inefficient 38.7% (12-31). Nneka led the way for the Storm with seven points while the Valkyries were led by Kaila Charles with 12 points. Both teams felt as though their defensive performance would warrant a larger lead, but 15 combined turnovers and poor shooting on the offensive side limited any advantage either team would claim. An encouraging sign for the Storm was their ability to match the Valkyries’ strength in the paint, tying the Valkyries in points in the paint with 14 and outrebounding Golden State 19-16.

The second half started with a Salaun turnaround jumper. Skylar converted an AND1 on the other end. A Salaun three followed by a free throw from Fagbenle extended the Valkyries’ lead to seven. Nneka hit a jumper as Dom rejected a Fagbenle layup and converted a layup of her own to cut the Valkyries’ lead to two, forcing a Valkyries timeout. The Storm forced a turnover out of the timeout, and Nneka nailed another jumper to tie the game at 45. Wheeler hit a three to give the Storm a short-lived lead, which was matched immediately by Salaun on the other end. Another Salaun three gave the Valkyries a three-point lead, forcing a timeout from Noelle Quinn. Monique Billings nailed another triple for the Valkyries, pushing the lead out to six. Burton dropped in a layup and Billings added another, capping off a 13-0 Valkyries run. Ezi stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer. The third quarter ended with Burton going one for two from the free throw line. The Storm’s offensive inefficiencies continued into the third with the Storm shooting 35% (7-20) from the field. The Valkyries, however, came out firing in the third, shooting 64.3% (9-14). That allowed them to extend their lead to double-digits. Golden State led 61-53 at the end of the third.

The fourth began with a Sykes layup. Erica Wheeler tossed in a three-pointer, cutting the Valkyries’ lead to three early in the fourth and forcing another Valkyries timeout by Coach Natalie Nakase. Nneka added a floater, and Wheeler deposited another three-ball to send Climate Pledge Arena into raptures and gave the Storm a two-point lead. Salaun tied the game with a layup. A pair of Sykes free throws gave the Storm the lead once again. Burton added a layup for the Valkyries, once again tying the game halfway through the fourth. Sykes flipped in a layup, once again giving the Storm the lead. Salaun hit from beyond the arc to give the Valkyries a one-point lead at 68-67. Wheeler nailed a huge three to give the Storm a two-point lead. Quickly, Fagbenle tied the game up with another layup. Skylar went one for two from the line to give the Storm a slim one-point advantage with a minute to go in the fourth. Nneka also went one for two at the line to extend the Storm's lead to two. Rupert nailed a massive three for the Valkyries, giving them a one-point lead with 36.6 seconds to go. Erica Wheeler splashed another massive shot that would turn out to be the game-winner with 18.5 seconds to go. Salaun missed a driving layup, only for Kate Martin to grab the offensive rebound, kick it out to Salaun, who missed a three-point attempt. Golden State nearly grabbed another offensive rebound, but the ball was deflected to Erica Wheeler, who dribbled down the court as time expired, while Climate Pledge Arena erupted into thunderous celebration. The Storm finally clinched their spot in the 2025 WNBA playoffs.

Final Box Score

Up Next?

Editor’s Note: We don’t know exactly. We know the Storm are in the playoffs, but there is still a lot of mystery. Seattle can finish as the 7th or 8th seed. That depends on whether the Golden State Valkyries win or lose their last game. They travel to Minnesota to face the Lynx on Thursday. Minnesota has already clinched the #1 overall seed, so they don’t have anything to play for. However, in a sense, Minnesota can pick who they want to face in the first round, Seattle or Golden State. The Lynx have beaten the Valkyries three times this season (86-75, 82-71, and 78-72). The Lynx have lost to the Seattle Storm twice this year, both times by double digits.

Minnesota has a little dilemma. Do they play their players to try and beat the Valkyries, which would lead to an “easier” matchup for them in the first round? But do they want to risk any players getting hurt when they have already locked up the #1 overall seed?

If the Valkyries lose, the Storm will move up to the #7 seed. Then they will face either the Las Vegas Aces or the Atlanta Dream. Both teams have one game remaining on their schedule. Atlanta travels to Connecticut on Wednesday to play the Sun. Las Vegas travels to Los Angeles to face the Sparks on Thursday. If both teams win, the Aces will be the #2 seed. If the Aces lose, and Atlanta wins, then the Dream will be the #2 seed.

Part 2

Part 2 will include additional thoughts and discussion from Tuesday’s game against the Golden State Valkyries. It’ll be sent exclusively to paid subscribers.

Notes:
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Photo Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography