Golden State already drew first blood in this matchup, and the 96-79 result did more than just hand the Valkyries a comfortable win. It snapped a two-game skid, pushed Golden State back into the mix for the No. 1 seed, and left Toronto looking like a team that has run out of time to pretend this slump is a blip.
Now the same two teams meet again on Tuesday in the third and final game of the 2026 regular season, and the pressure is squarely on Toronto. The Tempo have dropped out of the playoff race after losing six games in a row and nine of their last 10, which is not the profile of a side that should feel confident walking back into the same building and expecting a different ending.
Burton set the tone, and Toronto never really answered
The first meeting was not a mystery. Veronica Burton led Golden State with 17 points and six assists, and the Valkyries got the kind of steady, composed guard play that tends to decide these games before they become dramatic. Janelle Salaun and Tiffany Hayes added 15 points apiece, which is exactly the sort of balanced support that makes Golden State dangerous when the scoring load is spread properly.
Burton’s season numbers only sharpen the point. She is averaging 5.5 assists per game this season, and that matters because it tells you her performance on Sunday was not some random outlier. Golden State is getting control, pace and structure from its lead guard, and when that is in place, the rest of the attack starts to look much more convincing.
Toronto’s Mabrey problem hangs over the rematch
The uncomfortable truth for Toronto is that the first game was already played with Marina Mabrey sidelined by a neck issue, and she is now listed as questionable for Tuesday. That does not guarantee anything, but it does keep the same central problem hanging over this rematch: Toronto may once again be short of the player most likely to change the tone of the night.
Gabby Williams and Veronica Burton are both listed among the key names around this game, but the wider reality is hard to ignore. Golden State looks like the side with the clearer identity, the stronger current form and the better reason to believe Sunday was not a one-off. Toronto, meanwhile, arrives with its season already drifting away from it.
That is why Tuesday feels less like a fresh start and more like a test of whether Toronto can stop the slide from getting any worse. Golden State has already done the hard part once. If it repeats the result, nobody will be able to say the warning signs were subtle.
