Valkyries begin playoffs against the Wings

Dallas Wings (27-17, 13-10 Western Conference) at Golden State Valkyries (32-12, 15-8 Western Conference) San Francisco; Sunday, 9 p.m. EDT LINE: Valkyries -7.5; over/under is 154.5 WNBA PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Valkyries host first series matchup BOTTOM LINE: The Golden State Valkyries host the Dallas Wings to begin the first round of the WNBA playoffs. Golden State went 3-0 against Dallas during the regular season. The Valkyries won the last regular season meeting 78-70 on Aug. 18. Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 23 points, and Paige Bueckers led the Wings with 21 points. The Valkyries have gone 15-8 against Western Conference teams. Golden State is seventh in the Western Conference with 19.3 assists per game led by Veronica Burton averaging 5.7. The Wings have gone 13-10 against Western Conference opponents. Dallas ranks third in the Western Conference shooting 34.6% from 3-point range. Golden State is shooting 42.2% from the field this season, 2.6 percentage points lower than the 44.8% Dallas allows to opponents. Dallas has shot at a 46.8% clip from the field this season, 5.4 percentage points greater than the 41.4% shooting opponents of Golden State have averaged. TOP PERFORMERS: Burton is scoring 12.2 points per game and averaging 3.6 rebounds for the Valkyries. Tiffany Hayes is averaging 11.0 points and 3.1 rebounds over the last 10 games. Jessica Shepard is scoring 14.5 points per game and averaging 11.1 rebounds for the Wings. Bueckers is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Valkyries: 7-3, averaging 78.0 points, 36.3 rebounds, 20.3 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 41.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.7 points per game. Wings: 7-3, averaging 90.6 points, 36.8 rebounds, 23.2 assists, 6.8 steals and 6.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 81.7 points. INJURIES: Valkyries: Gabby Williams: day to day (reconditioning), Cecilia Zandalasini: day to day (reconditioning), Iliana Rupert: out for season (pregnancy), Janelle Salaun: day to day (reconditioning). Wings: Alanna Smith: out (leg), Azzi Fudd: out for season (knee), Alysha Clark: day to day (face). ------ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.