Valkyries win last home game of regular season

It was raining buckets at Chase Center tonight. At least for the Valkyries.

Golden State won their final home game of the 2026 regular season. But they are not done at Ballhalla. The 70-57 win against the Seattle Storm all but guarantees their home court advantage in the playoffs through the second round, should they get there. One more win would be that guarantee.

The Valkyries won without three of their top players. Gabby Williams, Janelle Salaün and Cecilia Zandalasini were on the bench, still recovering from the FIBA World Cup in Berlin. 

But everything else was true to form: the defensive-minded Valks had 12 steals, Kiah Stokes – who is third in the league in blocks per game – had four of them, and the Valkyries red-hot bench scored 32 points.

Golden State got the W despite the Storm’s Flau’jae Johnson, who led her team tonight with 17 points. Johnson was the Valkyries first round draft pick this year but was traded to Seattle just minutes later in a deal that many fans are still bitter about. Tonight’s game did not help. 

What did help was the final score. The Valkyries dropped 70 points, while holding the Storm to just 57. It was the 6th game in a row that the Valkyries have held the opposing team to under 70 points. No team has done that since 2017.

Another streak: with tonight’s sold-out game, the Valkyries became the only franchise in WNBA history to sell out every home game in its first two seasons. 

“We don’t take this for granted at all. It is remarkable,” Coach Natalie Nakase said.

That was fitting for what was billed as fan appreciation night at Chase Center, which included video messages from the players thanking fans and swag give-aways throughout the game. 

“We have the best fans in the world. We would not be where we are or who we are without the love,” Kaila Charles said. “It’s indescribable.”

Of course the sea of purple did their share of appreciating the team right back.  The enthusiasm inside Chase Center was deafening. Those in attendance did not stay quiet or in their seats for the 109 minutes of the game. Every Valkyries basket, every rebound, steal, block — and every missed basket by Seattle — was met with a roar. 

When fan favorites Kaitlyn Chen and Laetecia Amihere checked into the game, the volume ramped up even more. Amihere’s first basket – deafening. 

Also deafening: the moment when Juste Jocyte scored her first three-point shot. Jocyte was the Valkyries first ever draft pick in 2025 but didn’t join the team till this year. She has ridden the bench for much of the season, but got more minutes in the absence of Williams, Salaün and Zandalasini and had a career high of 11 points against Seattle, going three for three from beyond the arc.

Victory wasn’t the only thing that was sweet this evening. During a time out, Tiffany Hayes’ brother appeared on the court and proposed to his partner — who, fortunately for him, didn’t turn him down in front of an arena full of amped-up basketball fans. Post-proposal  Hayes, who started the game and scored 10 points, beelined for her brother and his now-fiance, grinning.

In the wake of this time-out romance, Ballhalla did what Ballhalla does. It got very, very loud.