Fever, Valkyries upping the intensity as playoff contenders

Expect a playoff atmosphere on Sunday when opponents jockeying for postseason positioning -- the visiting Indiana Fever and the Golden State Valkyries -- meet in San Francisco.

Sixth-place Indiana (21-18) and eighth-place Golden State (20-18) are separated by just a half-game following the Valkyries' 99-62 rout of Washington on Saturday. Seattle, which beat Chicago on Saturday, is one game up on Golden State in the win column.

The Fever kept pace in the hotly contested race with a 76-75 win on Friday at Los Angeles, sealed on Aliyah Boston's steal in the closing seconds. The takeaway capped a 22-point night for Boston, who joined Odyssey Sims (21 points) to lead Indiana.

"To add a comment about the resilient nature of our team ... one thing that goes missing is the character of these women," Fever coach Stephanie White said.

"This group that's been here and gone through all of this, and then the ones we've brought in ... these are women who care about winning and care about one another."

Indiana has been without second-year All-Star point guard Caitlin Clark, who has played in just 13 games this season because of injuries. She has been out since July 15 while dealing with a right groin injury.

Kelsey Mitchell has buoyed Indiana with 20.5 points per game. Boston is averaging 15.6 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds. Sims, recently picked up on waivers, is averaging 11.4 points in her seven appearances.

Golden State won its first two meetings with Indiana this season, both before Sims arrived: 88-77 on June 19 in San Francisco, and 80-61 on July 9 in Indianapolis.

The Valkyries can complete their second season sweep in as many nights, coming off Saturday's blowout of Washington. Veronica Burton scored all 15 of her points in the first half. The team played without leading scorer Tiffany Hayes (left knee injury, illness), who missed her second consecutive game.

The Valkyries' 29-point lead by halftime gave coach Natalie Nakase an opportunity to rest Golden State's starters in anticipation of the second leg of a back-to-back on Sunday.

"It kind of worked out really nice," Nakase said, adding that Saturday's first game in a five-game home stretch came after nearly a week off. "When there's a time when you can recover, both physically and mentally, you can execute game plans."

Golden State's crucial home stretch features three games against teams currently in position for the playoffs. The Valkyries also host New York and Minnesota, bookending a matchup with a struggling Dallas bunch.

Burton has been pacing Golden State since Kayla Thornton went down with a season-ending knee injury on July 19. The Valkyries also have seen key contributions from Janelle Salaun, who knocked down four of her seven 3-point attempts in a 20-point effort on Saturday.

--Field Level Media