WNBA playoffs · First round, Game 1 · Sunday, Sep 27 · Final
Valkyries 104, Wings 80: Golden State makes 18 threes and leads by 36 in Game 1
Golden State Valkyries lead the best-of-three first-round series 1-0. Cecilia Zandalasini had 22 points; Kalshi had the Valkyries at 74¢ at tip-off.
Dallas Wings80
Golden State Valkyries104
Chase Center, San Francisco · 18,064 fans · USA Net/CNBC1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Wings | 20 | 11 | 25 | 24 | 80 |
| Golden State Valkyries | 21 | 37 | 27 | 19 | 104 |
Winner’s low
64¢
last trade, 6:15 PM PT, before it settled at $1
Closing line
GS −7.5
DraftKings via ESPN; the Valkyries covered
Total
184
over a 154.5 close
How the game went
- End of Q1: Valkyries 21, Wings 20.
- Halftime: Valkyries 58, Wings 31.
- End of Q3: Valkyries 85, Wings 56.
- Final: Valkyries 104, Wings 80.
- Wings ran off 12 unanswered points from Q4 5:36 to Q4 4:09, taking the score from DAL 62, GS 95 to DAL 74, GS 95.
- Valkyries ran off 11 unanswered points from Q2 4:03 to Q2 2:29, taking the score from DAL 28, GS 38 to DAL 28, GS 49.
- Valkyries ran off 8 unanswered points from Q3 9:29 to Q3 7:35, taking the score from DAL 33, GS 58 to DAL 33, GS 66.
- Biggest leads: Valkyries by 36 (Q4, 7:38 left); Wings by 4 (Q1).
- Lead changes: 6.
Quarter scores from the box score; runs, leads and lead changes counted from ESPN’s play-by-play. A run counts every point, free throws included, until the other team scores.1
What the market had
At tip-off Kalshi had the Valkyries at 74¢ and the Wings at 27¢ to buy.2 The favorite won.
The winning side’s lowest trade after tip-off was 64¢, at 6:15 PM PT. It closed the night at $1: a contract pays $1.00 if its side wins and nothing if it does not, and Kalshi settled this one at 8:13 PM PT.2
DraftKings closed at GS -7.5 with a total of 154.5, as ESPN shows it. The final margin was 24, so the Valkyries covered, and the 184 total points went over.1
Prices are Kalshi’s, not ours. No PM Countdown writer posted a call on this game, so there is nothing of ours to grade here.
Who stood out
Cecilia Zandalasini led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, with 0 rebounds and 1 assist.
| Player | Team | Min | Pts | Reb | Ast | FG | 3PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cecilia Zandalasini | Valkyries | 16 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 7-11 | 4-5 |
| Paige Bueckers | Wings | 25 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 9-10 | 2-2 |
| Tiffany Hayes | Valkyries | 19 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 7-10 | 3-5 |
| Gabby Williams | Valkyries | 27 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 8-16 | 2-5 |
| Maddy Siegrist | Wings | 21 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 4-9 | 1-2 |
| Kitija Laksa | Wings | 15 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4-5 | 3-4 |
| Arike Ogunbowale | Wings | 25 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 2-7 | 0-1 |
| Kayla Thornton | Valkyries | 19 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4-6 | 2-4 |
| Veronica Burton | Valkyries | 23 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 3-7 | 2-2 |
Every player who scored 10 or more.1
Box score
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG | 3PT | FT | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | |||||||||||
| Kayla Thornton | 19 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4-6 | 2-4 | 0-0 | +11 |
| Gabby Williams | 27 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8-16 | 2-5 | 2-3 | +27 |
| Cecilia Zandalasini | 16 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7-11 | 4-5 | 4-5 | +17 |
| Kiah Stokes | 20 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2-2 | +20 |
| Veronica Burton | 23 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3-7 | 2-2 | 2-2 | +21 |
| Bench | |||||||||||
| Laeticia Amihere | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | -2 |
| Janelle Salaun | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-6 | 1-4 | 0-0 | +7 |
| Aminata Gueye | 10 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | -5 |
| Tiffany Hayes | 19 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7-10 | 3-5 | 4-4 | +5 |
| Kaila Charles | 19 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | +16 |
| Kaitlyn Chen | 17 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3-7 | 2-4 | 0-0 | +3 |
| Juste Jocyte | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Team | 104 | 33 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 36-74 | 18-36 | 14-16 | ||
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG | 3PT | FT | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | |||||||||||
| Jessica Shepard | 24 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0-7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -30 |
| Maddy Siegrist | 21 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4-9 | 1-2 | 2-3 | -18 |
| Awak Kuier | 20 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1-5 | 0-4 | 0-0 | -25 |
| Arike Ogunbowale | 25 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2-7 | 0-1 | 6-6 | -31 |
| Paige Bueckers | 25 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9-10 | 2-2 | 1-1 | -23 |
| Bench | |||||||||||
| Alysha Clark | 19 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | -6 |
| Li Yueru | 16 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 3-3 | +6 |
| Odyssey Sims | 15 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 3-3 | -1 |
| Kitija Laksa | 15 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4-5 | 3-4 | 0-0 | +1 |
| Aziaha James | 13 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-6 | 0-3 | 3-4 | -2 |
| Haley Jones | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | +9 |
| Team | 80 | 30 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 28-60 | 6-20 | 18-20 | ||
Team stats
DALGS
- 28-60Field goals36-74
- 6-20Three-pointers18-36
- 18-20Free throws14-16
- 30Rebounds33
- 5Offensive rebounds6
- 19Assists22
- 3Steals5
- 10Turnovers5
- 15Points given up off turnovers5
- 36Points in the paint30
- 5Fast-break points8
- 4Largest lead36
ESPN box score.1 Starters first, then the bench, in ESPN’s order.
What’s next
Golden State leads the best-of-three series 1-0. Game 2 is Wednesday, Sep 30, 6:00 PM PT at College Park Center in Arlington, on ESPN. A Valkyries win ends the series; a Wings win forces a deciding Game 3.1
Kalshi had Game 2 at Valkyries 62¢ and Wings 39¢ to buy, and the series at Valkyries 90¢ and Wings 12¢, read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 9:27 PM PT.2
The Game 2 preview: tale of the tape, who to watch and the injury report
Quick answers
Who won Game 1 of Wings vs Valkyries?
The Golden State Valkyries beat the Dallas Wings 104-80 at Chase Center on Sunday, Sep 27, 2026, and lead the first-round series 1-0.
Who led Wings vs Valkyries Game 1 in scoring?
Cecilia Zandalasini scored 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, with 0 rebounds and 1 assist.
When is Game 2?
Game 2 is Wednesday, Sep 30, 6:00 PM PT at College Park Center in Arlington. A Valkyries win ends the series; a Wings win forces Game 3.
Did the favorite cover?
DraftKings closed at GS -7.5 with a total of 154.5. The final margin was 24, so the Valkyries covered, and the 184 total points went over.
Sources
Read after the final. This page is not updated in place.
- ESPN WNBA game summary for event 401918016: final score, score by quarter, attendance, box score, team stats, play-by-play (runs and leads are counted from its scoring plays), and the DraftKings closing line ESPN shows, read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 9:29 PM PT. espn.com
- Kalshi public API: event KXWNBAGAME-26SEP27DALGS (settlement, and one-minute candles from 15 minutes before tip-off to the end of the game), and the series event KXWNBASERIES-26DALGSR1, read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 9:27 PM PT. kalshi.com
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