Valkyries look to break through vs. Wilson, Aces

By the Editorial Team · Sunday, October 4, 2026

The Golden State Valkyries and Las Vegas Aces are set to face off in the WNBA semifinals, with the Valkyries holding home-court advantage despite the Aces sweeping them in the regular season. This matchup pits reigning champions Las Vegas, led by MVP A’ja Wilson, against a defensively strong Golden State team aiming to leverage their narrow regular-season edge to reach the Finals.

The WNBA semifinals are set to begin Sunday afternoon in San Francisco as the second-seeded Golden State Valkyries prepare to face the third-seeded Las Vegas Aces in a best-of-five series. Both teams advanced to the conference finals by narrowly winning their first-round matchups in decisive Game 3 showdowns on their home courts.

Golden State earned home-court advantage by finishing one game ahead of Las Vegas during the regular season. The Aces, who have captured three of the last four WNBA championships, have dominated the season series between the two teams, sweeping all three regular-season matchups. Their victories included an 91-81 road win in May followed by two home wins, 84-79 and 92-73, in June. However, the most recent of those games was more than three months ago.

Central to the Aces’ success this season has been four-time league MVP A’ja Wilson, who averaged 25 points and 12.7 rebounds in the regular-season games against Golden State. Wilson delivered even stronger numbers in the first round, posting 32 points and 11.7 rebounds as Las Vegas eliminated the Indiana Fever. Following the clinching victory on Thursday, Wilson emphasized the importance of postseason performance. “Regular season’s cute. I know, that’s so cute, oh my God, everyone can come see us,” she said in an on-court interview. “But this is the moment that we live for.”

The Valkyries have countered with strong interior defense led by Kiah Stokes, a three-time champion who joined Golden State this year and has averaged 1.7 blocks and 5.8 rebounds per game. Coach Natalie Nakase praised Stokes as the team’s defensive anchor during the first-round series against Dallas, saying, “She loves to just not let anyone score.”

While Wilson was the only Aces player to reach 20 or more points in each game against Golden State, teammate Jackie Young also had a consistent scoring presence with outputs of 23, 27, and 21 points in the three regular-season matches. On the Valkyries’ side, Gabby Williams led scoring against Las Vegas, averaging 19 points per game, including a pivotal role in Golden State’s 77-73 Game 3 victory over Dallas on Friday.

The stage is now set for a highly anticipated clash between two talented and closely matched teams, with the Aces looking to continue their championship pursuit and the Valkyries aiming to capitalize on home-court advantage to advance to the WNBA Finals.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.