Seattle Storm (10-6, 8-4 Western Conference) at Golden State Valkyries (8-7, 4-4 Western Conference)
San Francisco; Sunday, 8:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Seattle Storm visits the Golden State Valkyries after Skylar Diggins scored 24 points in the Storm’s 97-81 victory against the Connecticut Sun.
The Valkyries’ record in Western Conference games is 4-4. Golden State is 4-6 against opponents over .500.
The Storm’s record in Western Conference games is 8-4. Seattle is sixth in the Western Conference with 24.4 defensive rebounds per game led by Nneka Ogwumike averaging 6.3.
Golden State is shooting 39.6% from the field this season, 4.4 percentage points lower than the 44.0% Seattle allows to opponents. Seattle averages 7.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.4 fewer made shots on average than the 9.3 per game Golden State allows.
The teams play for the second time this season. In the last matchup on June 15 the Valkyries won 76-70 led by 22 points from Kayla Thornton, while Diggins scored 21 points for the Storm.
TOP PERFORMERS: Temi Fagbenle is averaging 10.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals for the Valkyries. Thornton is averaging 17.7 points over the last 10 games.
Diggins is averaging 19 points and 6.1 assists for the Storm. Ogwumike is averaging 17.2 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Valkyries: 6-4, averaging 81.9 points, 38.2 rebounds, 18.6 assists, 7.7 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 40.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.0 points per game.
Storm: 7-3, averaging 86.6 points, 29.9 rebounds, 23.0 assists, 8.6 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 79.3 points.
INJURIES: Valkyries: None listed.
Storm: Katie Lou Samuelson: out for season (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
