Valkyries' record-breaking offense fuels rout of Wings for franchise's first playoff win

Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton (5) makes a pass to teammate Tiffany Hayes (15) during the first half of Game 1 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs against the Dallas Wings in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle)

The Golden State Valkyries notched the franchise's first playoff win. Let the records show they served up a beatdown. 

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The Valkyries beat the Dallas Wings 104-80 to capture Game 1 of the first-round series on Sunday night at Chase Center. The 104 points are a franchise record – Kaitlyn Chen's 3-pointer in the final seconds beat their previous high of 102 points in a loss to the Las Vegas Aces in 2025.

They were hot from three as a group, making a franchise-record 18 on 35 attempts. 

Golden State will head to Dallas on Wednesday with a chance to take the best-of-three series.

Here are takeaways.

Hot hands: The Valkyries offense rose to the occasion. Their best scoring night in their two-year history started with a prolific first half. 

Their 58 points in the first half beat a season-high by two, fueled by a furious 37-point second quarter, also a season high for points in a single quarter by two. 

The second quarter essentially decided the game as Golden State held the Wings to 11 points.

Defense has been this team's calling card, but the offense played the ultimate demoralizer.

Three hands got hot to do it. Veteran Tiffany Hayes was the initial spark off the bench, scoring 15 points on 5-of-6 from the field, including three 3s, in nine minutes. She finished with 21 points in 19 minutes.

Hayes passed the baton to Cecilia Zandalasini who closed out the first half on a heater. She scored 10 of her 17 total first-half points in the final four minutes with a trio of 3-pointers that sent the crowd into a frenzy. 

Valkyries 104, Wings 80

FGFTRebDALLASMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTSKuier20:071-50-00-4002Siegrist20:464-92-32-30011Shepard23:550-70-00-3330Bueckers25:039-101-11-62121Ogunbowale25:272-76-60-14310Clark19:152-30-01-4124Yueru16:052-33-31-3017Laksa15:094-50-00-10211Sims14:572-43-30-3717James12:562-63-40-0227Jones6:210-10-00-2000Totals200:0028-6018-205-30191580

Percentages: FG .467, FT .900.

3-Point Goals: 6-20, .300 (Laksa 3-4, Bueckers 2-2, Siegrist 1-2, Clark 0-1, Ogunbowale 0-1, Yueru 0-1, Sims 0-2, James 0-3, Kuier 0-4).

Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 2 (Jones, Yueru).

Turnovers: 10 (Shepard 3, Jones 2, Bueckers, Clark, Kuier, Ogunbowale, Sims).

Steals: 3 (James, Jones, Yueru).

Technical Fouls: None.

FGFTRebGOLDEN STATEMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTSThornton18:344-60-00-51110Zandalasini15:527-114-50-01222Stokes20:120-22-22-8212Burton22:533-72-20-35310G.Williams27:258-162-30-34220Salaun21:021-60-00-2013Charles19:091-30-02-5123Hayes18:387-104-40-14021Chen17:073-70-01-2248Gueye10:001-40-01-3232Amihere6:040-10-00-1000Jocyte3:061-10-00-0003Totals200:0036-7414-166-332219104

Percentages: FG .486, FT .875.

3-Point Goals: 18-36, .500 (Zandalasini 4-5, Hayes 3-5, Burton 2-2, Chen 2-4, Thornton 2-4, G.Williams 2-5, Jocyte 1-1, Charles 1-2, Salaun 1-4, Amihere 0-1, Gueye 0-1, Stokes 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 1.

Blocked Shots: 2 (Burton, Stokes).

Turnovers: 4 (Amihere, Charles, Gueye, Jocyte).

Steals: 5 (Gueye 2, Hayes 2, G.Williams).

Technical Fouls: None.

Dallas20112524-80Golden State21372719-104

A_18,064 (18,064).

The Wings would often leave her open in the corners, and her teammates found her. She finished with a team-high 22 points, shooting 4-of-5 from 3 in a matter of 16 minutes. 

Gabby Williams got comfortable in her midrange game and aggressive in the paint, chipping in 13 points in the half for a total of 20 points on the night

Staunch defense: Paige Bueckers missed one shot all night. She scored 21 points, making 9 of 10 field-goal attempts and both shots from beyond the arc. She did it all while putting Williams, her primary defender, through a gantlet. 

One of the league's most effortless scorers looked just that against the league's best defense. 

That type of night from Bueckers is exactly what the Valkyries are happy to live with.

The load fell entirely on Bueckers as the Valkyries' perimeter defense stifled Dallas' secondary scorers. Arike Ogunbowale, Jessica Shepard, Awak Kuier and Maddy Siegrist – the rest of Dallas' starters – shot a combined 7-for-28 (25%) from the field. 

Ogunbowale and Siegrist chipped in 10 and 11 points, respectively, but Most Improved Player-favorite Shepard went scoreless and Kuier had two points. 

The Wings had no grip to claw back and both sides cleared the benches by the third quarter.

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This article originally published at Valkyries' record-breaking offense fuels rout of Wings for franchise's first playoff win.

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