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Top 10 Plays of the Week

AP Recap

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Napheesa Collier made a go-ahead 18-footer with 1:24 left on the way to 24 points, and the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx rallied from a 17-point, third-quarter deficit to beat the Golden State Valkyries 75-74 on Wednesday night and move on in the WNBA playoffs.
Collier shot 10 for 16 and followed up her 20-point performance in Game 1 with a 14-point second half to bring her team back — and give the Lynx another chance to keep chasing that championship they just missed last year.
The Valkyries had one final chance with four seconds remaining following a shot-clock violation, and Cecilia Zandalasini couldn’t convert a jumper.
Kayla McBride made a go-ahead scoop shot for Minnesota with 2:48 to go after DiJonai Carrington connected on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 3:18 remaining to pull Minnesota within 70-69. McBride wound up with 18 points.
Veronica Burton had 13 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals as the expansion Valkyries nearly extended their special season. Monique Billings scored 15 points off the bench.
Carrington banked in a 3-pointer with 8:30 left that got the Lynx within 63-56 and McBride’s jumper made it a five-point game at the 7:19 mark before Golden State called timeout. The Valkyries immediately committed a shot-clock violation and McBride scored again.
The Valkyries, cheered by their raucous sellout crowd of 18,543, were in control for much of the game — unlike their 101-72 Game 1 defeat Sunday.
Billings rebounded her own miss just before the third-quarter buzzer, scored and converted a three-point play to put Golden State ahead 63-49 going into the final 10 minutes. But Minnesota kept creeping back.
After the final buzzer, fans chanted “GSV!” to celebrate a season in which <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/valkyries-playoffs-expansion-team-74b0020aa69c724036e4294d8eed93fc" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">Golden State made WNBA history</a> by becoming the first expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season.
And the Valkyries were unfazed playing in an unfamiliar venue for their first postseason home game. That “Balhalla” home-court advantage had to relocate nearly 50 miles south to the NHL San Jose Sharks’ SAP Center because the Laver Cup tennis showcase had booked Chase Center before Golden State had even been granted an expansion team.
Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski was one of the biggest supporters, sitting courtside with owner Joe Lacob and Warriors President Brandon Schneider.
Golden State lost all four regular-season meetings, three by double figures, so this one will both sting and show these women how close they are. Starting center Temi Fagbenle was a late scratch Wednesday because of right knee pain.
Valkyries <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/natalie-nakase-valkyries-coach-of-year-998e958098170761eaa0307fddd93d0b" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">coach Natalie Nakase was recognized</a> before the game as WNBA Coach of the Year and Burton the league’s most improved player.

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Game Recap: Minnesota Lynx vs. Golden State Valkyries (First Round, Game 2)

First Round Game Recap

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Game Recap: Lynx vs. Valkyries (9/17/25)

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Top Plays of the Day, 09/17/2025

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Golden State Valkyries Top Plays vs. Minnesota Lynx

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Golden State Valkyries vs. Minnesota Lynx - Game Highlights

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Napheesa Collier scored 20 points to lead five players in double figures and the Minnesota Lynx breezed to a 101-72 victory over the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round WNBA series.
Collier hit 7 of 11 shots with a 3-pointer and all five of her free throws, adding six rebounds.
Natisha Hiedeman made two 3-pointers and scored 18 for the Lynx, while Kayla McBride added 17. Jessica Shepard had 12 points and eight rebounds and Courtney Williams pitched in with 11 points and four steals.
Veronica Burton and Cecilia Zandalasini both scored 14 to lead Golden State. Burton added seven assists and three steals but also had seven of the Valkyries’ 16 turnovers. Janelle Salaün had 13 points and eight rebounds and Temi Fágbénlé scored 12 before fouling out.
Burton hit two 3-pointers for Golden State in an 11-4 run to start the game and the Valkyries led 28-21 after one quarter.
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<div id="93avfqg34d8" class="fs-feed-ad" data-freestar-ad="__336x280 __336x280" data-google-query-id="CPiJ8pW22Y8DFSkHTwgdvMIFlw">McBride had two baskets in a 12-3 run to begin the second period and Minnesota moved in front 33-31. McBride had 14 points by halftime and Collier scored 11 for a 47-39 lead.</div>
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Alanna Smith hit a 3-pointer with 8:47 left in the third quarter for a 52-42 advantage and Minnesota led by double digits the rest of the way. DiJonai Carrington sank two 3-pointers and Williams hit one in the final 70 seconds as the Lynx took a 79-58 lead into the final period.
The Valkyries are still looking for their first win over the Lynx in their first year in the league after losing all four regular-season matchups — three by double digits.
Minnesota’s 34-10 record led the league. Golden State will host Game 2 on Wednesday.
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Game Recap: Golden State Valkyries vs. Minnesota Lynx (First Round, Game 1)

Game Preview/Recap

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Game Recap: Valkyries vs. Lynx (9/11/25)

Latest

Cecilia Zandalasini

t͡ʃɛ.ˈt͡ʃi.lə ˌzɑn.dɑ.lɑ.ˈzi.ni

NOTABLE
<ul>
<li>WNBA Champion (2017)</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
CAREER TRANSACTIONS
Signed by Minnesota as an unrestricted free agent for the rest of the season on Aug. 28.
2017 SEASON
Joined the Lynx for the final three games of her rookie season… Debuted in the Aug. 30 game at Indiana, becoming the 5th-youngest player to appear in a regular season game for Minnesota (Quanitra Hollingsworth, Svetlana Abrosimova, Candice Wiggins, Núria Martínez)… Scored two points with one rebound in her three outings, logging a total of 18:37.
PLAYOFFS
2017: Appeared in five postseason games, including all three Finals victories, totaling two points and one assist in 11 minutes.
INTERNATIONAL
2017: Represented Italy at EuroBasket 2017, held June 16-25 in the Czech Republic, where she earned All-Star Five honors after averaging 19.0 ppg and 9.6 rpg in seven games (30.9 mpg)… Ranked 2nd in the tournament in scoring, 3rd in rebounding, 3rd in FG accuracy (51.0%), 2nd in three-point accuracy (50.0%), 2nd in FT accuracy (88.9%) and 2nd in double-doubles (three)… 2016: Named Most Valuable Player of the 2016 U20 European Championship, held July 9-17 in Portugal… Led Italy to a silver medal, tallying 31 points and 11 rebounds in the quarterfinal win over Latvia, 27 points in the semifinal win over Serbia and 28 points and 10 rebounds in the gold-medal game loss to Spain… Ranked 1st in scoring (22.0 ppg), 6th in rebounding (9.0 rpg), 2nd in steals (2.86 spg) and 3rd in blocks (1.43 bpg) for the tournament… 2015: Made her senior debut for Italy at EuroBasket 2015, held June 11-28 in Hungary and Romania… Registered 3.2 ppg (29.4%) and 2.0 rpg in five games (10.4 mpg)… Followed up by helping Italy to a 5th-place finish at the 2015 U20 European Championship, held July 2-12 in Spain, where she averaged 11.1 ppg (38.8%), 5.2 rpg and 1.8 apg in nine starts (27.8 mpg)… 2014: Averaged 11.8 ppg (39.6%), 4.4 rpg and 2.2 apg in nine starts for Italy at the 2014 U18 European Championships… 2013: Was Italy&#8217;s top scorer at the 2013 U18 European Championships, netting 13.9 ppg (38.8%) and 6.3 rpg in nine contests… 2012: Represented Italy at the U17 World Championships, held in Amsterdam; she tallied 8.0 ppg (29.3%) and 4.5 rpg in six outings.
OVERSEAS
2016-17: Completed her third season with Italian club Famila Schio, appearing in 22 regular season games and averaging 8.6 ppg (45.2%), 4.5 rpg, 1.5 apg and 1.50 spg in 21.0 mpg… Boosted those figures to 13.0 ppg (51.7%) and 4.0 rpg in three contests as Schio claimed the Coppa Italia, and helped them reach the LegA playoff finals by contributed 10.4 ppg (46.9%), 4.2 rpg, 2.0 apg and 1.60 spg (logging 26.9 mpg) in 10 games… Schio also qualified for the EuroLeague postseason, where she netted a team-high 13.5 ppg (44.4%) and 5.5 rpg in two quarterfinal games vs. UMMC Ekaterinburg… Chipped in 8.5 ppg (47.4%) and 3.1 rpg in 14 regular season EuroLeague contests; overall, she went 9-for-16 (56.3%) from three-point range… 2015-16: Saw action in 32 LegA games overall for Schio, contributing 4.9 ppg (42.8%), 2.1 rpg and 1.2 apg in 15.4 mpg… Also appeared in 15 EuroLeague contests, averaging 3.4 ppg (40.9%) and 2.3 rpg in 13.3 mpg… 2014-15: Played her first season with Schio at age 18, tallying 5.5 ppg (45.6%), 2.8 rpg and 1.2 apg in 33 LegA outings (16.5 mpg), and adding 4.3 ppg (33.3%) and 3.3 rpg in nine EuroLeague contests (14.1 mpg)… 2013-14: Played for Sesto San Giovanni in Italy&#8217;s second division, contributing 15.7 ppg (40.8%) and 6.1 rpg in 20 games… 2012-13: Premiered with her hometown club Broni in Italy&#8217;s second division, averaging 12.6 ppg (38.3%) and 6.0 rpg in 26 games.
PERSONAL
Born Mar. 16, 1996 in Broni, Italy… Daughter of Roberto Zandalasini and Paola Lombardi… Her brother, Andrea, has also played basketball professionally… Won six Italian youth-level club championships while playing for Geas Sesto San Giovanni… Enjoys movies… Hobbies include painting, drawing and art in general.

Cecilia Zandalasini is temporarily suspended.

Cecilia Zandalasini signed a Contract with the Golden State Valkyries.

The Golden State Valkyries extended a Reserved qualifying offer to Cecilia Zandalasini.

Cecilia Zandalasini was drafted in the 2025 Expansion Draft by the Golden State Valkyries.