The Valkyries did themselves no favors by losing to the Seattle Storm on Tuesday.

If Golden State would have beaten Seattle, the expansion would have been locked into the No. 6 seed with a matchup against either the Atlanta Dream or Las Vegas Aces in the first round – two teams that the Valkyries have beaten at least once this season.

But that didn’t happen.

The Valkyries collapsed late and will now go into a must-win game against the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday. If Golden State loses, it will be the No. 8 seed and will stay in Minnesota for Game 1 of the first round on Sunday.

The stakes of Thursday’s game are simple: Win and clinch the No. 6 seed to avoid playing the Lynx.

Golden State has lost all three matchups with Minnesota this season by an average margin of 9.3 points. The Valk

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