Takeaways From Every WNBA First-Round Series as Liberty and Valkyries Make History

The Golden State Valkyries came back from 16 points down Friday night at Chase Center in San Francisco and beat the Dallas Wings 77-73 in Game 3, the last game of the WNBA playoffs' first round.

Two of four best-of-three series went three games; the other two were sweeps, including one by a No. 8 seed.

The semifinals start Sunday. The No. 8 New York Liberty play at the No. 4 Atlanta Dream, and the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces play at the No. 2 Valkyries.

New York became the first No. 8 seed in league history to eliminate a No. 1 seed. The Liberty won 91-75 in Minneapolis on Sept. 27, then beat Minnesota 87-71 at Barclays Center two nights later, never trailing.

The Lynx led the league at 33-11. In Liberty coach Chris DeMarco's first season, New York improved from 13-11 in mid-July to finish 26-18.

Four days after missing the regular-season finale with left knee soreness, Breanna Stewart opened the series with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, shooting 11-of-18 from the field and 10-of-12 at the line. In Game 2, she played all 40 minutes, scored 21 points, and made all nine free throws.

DeMarco said the Liberty managed Stewart's minutes for most of the season, with a few rest games built in for this point of the year.

"This was a tough year for us with injuries and a lot of other stuff going on, and I feel like we've been trending in the right direction for a while now," DeMarco said. "It doesn't always show up in the wins and losses, but we're ready to play, and we knew we had to be at our best at the end of September and October. I think we are right now."

Jonquel Jones had 21 points and 13 rebounds in the clincher, six of them offensive. All 14 of New York's second-chance points were hers. The Liberty outscored Minnesota 44-28 in the paint.

Olivia Miles, the league's Rookie of the Year, shot 4-of-20 in the series. In Game 2, she had five points and was assessed a Flagrant 1 in the third quarter after hitting Stewart in the face as Stewart drove to the basket. Napheesa Collier scored 12 points in Game 1 and 14 in Game 2, with five fouls in each.

Last season, the Liberty went up 1-0 on the Phoenix Mercury in the first round and lost the series.

Golden State won the first playoff series in franchise history in its second season. The Valkyries opened with a 104-80 win at Chase Center on Sept. 27. They made 18-of-36 3-pointers, won the second quarter 37-11, and got 40 points from their bench.

Arike Ogunbowale had 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting that night. Three nights later at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, she scored 45 points, a WNBA playoff record, in a 108-100 overtime win. The previous record of 42 was shared by Angel McCoughtry, Stewart, and Collier, according to ESPN.

Her 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left in regulation tied it at 93. She then scored 11 of Dallas' 15 points in overtime. Gabby Williams had 36 for Golden State.

Without a series win, the record did not mean much to Ogunbowale.

"We just wanted to come out with a different intensity," Ogunbowale said. "We felt like we got pushed around out there when we played in San Francisco, and especially me personally, I don't feel like I was aggressive. I don't feel like I was trying to get to the hole. I was being really passive and wasn't playing my game."

"So I wanted to come out and be really, really aggressive," Ogunbowale continued. "I didn't know what I would score. I just knew I was going to shoot regardless, because seven shots isn't enough to win in the playoffs. I have to be aggressive, whether it's going in or not. We have rebounders. I just have to be aggressive, and that was my mindset for this game."

Dallas went 27-17 in the regular season, 17 wins better than its 10-34 record in 2025.

In Game 3, the Wings led 53-37 in the third after a 20-0 run spanning halftime. They scored 20 points on 6-of-21 shooting with four turnovers over the final 18:02.

Williams scored 11 of her 19 points in the fourth, including the go-ahead 17-footer with 1:17 left. Burton added 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists; Stokes grabbed 13 rebounds. Golden State had 14 offensive boards and a 20-10 edge in second-chance points.

Ogunbowale scored 30 points, raising her series total to 85. After shooting 9-for-10 in the opener, Paige Bueckers went 6-for-27 in the final two games.

Four-time MVP A'ja Wilson scored 96 points in the series. The defending champion Aces beat the Fever 102-85 in Game 1 on Sept. 27, led by Wilson's 38 points and 16 rebounds on 15-of-19 shooting.

Indiana tied the series at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, winning 99-89 two nights later with a 58-26 paint advantage. Caitlin Clark had 27 points, seven rebounds, and 15 assists before fouling out with 2:45 left. Kelsey Mitchell scored 26; Aliyah Boston added 22.

Aces coach Becky Hammon said she could not recall one great one-on-one defensive play by Las Vegas that night.

"I thought our pickup points were — I would say overall, I'm not even going to just say guards — but were just poor as a group defensively," Hammon said. "I thought [we were] late, a step behind all night. I thought they were in the paint all night too much. So there's multiple things that we can fix on that end, but it starts with the point of attack."

"Where I thought they got very stifling was our point of attack," Hammon added. "It's a lot of grabbing, hand-checking. I understand it's the playoffs, but it shouldn't turn into the NFL either. And I think the refs have a — I wouldn't want to be one. I'm just saying that."

Jackie Young made all 13 free throws, scoring 31 points in Game 2. Wilson received a technical after arguing with an Indianapolis fan; the league took no further action.

Before Game 3 on Oct. 1 at Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas ruled out Stephanie Talbot with a leg injury. Jewell Loyd started and scored 11. Wilson had 36 points and 10 rebounds, and Chelsea Gray added 23. Young had 18 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the 94-83 win.

The Aces made 28-of-35 free throws. Indiana made 14-of-20.

Clark scored 11 in the first quarter and seven afterward, shooting 6-of-18 overall and 3-of-12 from three. Mitchell had 23 on 7-of-23 shooting; Boston added 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Fever shot 9-of-32 from deep.

Atlanta reached the semifinals for the first time since 2018; the sweep was its first series win since 2016.

Washington led 41-36 at halftime in Game 1 on Sept. 27, but Atlanta's 29-12 third quarter fueled a 92-77 win. Rhyne Howard scored 26 points, went 10-for-10 at the line, and had five steals. The Dream recorded 16 steals and scored 27 points off Washington's 23 turnovers.

Game 2, played Sept. 30 at CareFirst Arena, had 53 fouls. Howard fouled out with just over six minutes left. After trailing 65-58 through three quarters, Washington cut the deficit to three before the Dream scored 13 straight points to win 93-75.

Jordin Canada scored 13 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter, according to the Dream, and finished with seven rebounds and 11 assists. Allisha Gray scored 22 points in both games.

Dream coach Karl Smesko said Atlanta came out of Game 1 with a list of things it could do better, and the players locked into it.

"Great win for us. Great to advance," Smesko said. "Washington's had an amazing season. They're extraordinarily well coached and super physical, but I'm really proud of our team, how they responded, particularly in the second half, and it's good to be advancing."

Angel Reese, the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year, had 15 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in Game 2. Canada shot 4-of-8 from 3-point range and committed one turnover in 35 minutes.

Closing out games is the difference Canada sees in this season's team.

"We definitely see the maturity in our team," Canada said. "I think last year we would get big leads and then we would lose them, and then we would lose the game. I think this season we really put an emphasis on making sure we're doing the things that we need to do to close out games. Obviously, basketball is a game of runs. A team is going to make their run, but we have to be poised."

"Coach talks about managing our emotions and valuing possessions, and I think we have taken that to another level this season," Canada noted. "Obviously, we have the chemistry of playing together for a few years, but I think this year, being able to finish out games, has been something that I've seen in the difference in our team."

Sonia Citron scored 25 points in each game for Washington. Kiki Iriafen had 15 points in both, with 14 rebounds in the opener and 16 in Game 2. Atlanta finished the regular season 30-14, and Washington finished 28-16.

Game 1 of the Liberty-Dream semifinal is Sunday at 2 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The Aces and Valkyries follow at 4 p.m. ET at Chase Center.