SportyTV | WNBA: Standings tighten before FIBA break

The race for the top spot in the WNBA standings got a little tighter Sunday as the league played its final games before a 17-day break for the FIBA World Cup.

First-place Minnesota saw its lead over surging Golden State cut to two games after the Lynx (31-9) lost 89-81 to the Atlanta Dream and the Valkyries (29-11) rolled to an 86-69 win over the expansion Portland Fire.

Each team in the league will have four games remaining in the regular season when the WNBA returns to action on September 17.

The defending champion Las Vegas Aces (27-13) are in third place, and with Sunday’s win, the Dream (26-14) moved into a tie with the Indiana Fever (26-14) for fourth.

The top four teams get home-court advantage in the opening round of the play-offs.

Angel Reese had 15 points and 11 rebounds to set a WNBA record with her 29th double-double of the season, and Allisha Gray scored 23 points, hit six 3-pointers and grabbed 11 boards to help Atlanta beat Minnesota.

Olivia Miles had 21 points to lead the Lynx, who have dropped two straight after a stretch of 16 wins in 17 games.

HISTORY MADE

Angel Reese has recorded her 29th double-double this year, setting a new WNBA record for the most in a single season!#WNBASeason30 pic.twitter.com/k9AO61hN3Q
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 30, 2026

Golden State, meanwhile, jumped out to a 14-point lead over Portland (16-24) after the first quarter and never looked back to register its fourth consecutive victory and 19th win in 23 contests.

Tiffany Hayes led the Valkyries with 18 points and six rebounds in just 21 minutes, while Emily Engstler and Megan DiLeo each scored 12 for the Fire.

Dubs on the road for the @valkyries

The Valkyries defeat the Fire, 86-69. This marks the Valks fourth win in a row!

Tiffany Hayes: 18 PTS | 6 REB | 3 AST
Kayla Thornton: 17 PTS | 3 3PM
Kaitlyn Chen: 15 PTS | 3 3PM#WNBASeason30 pic.twitter.com/JZzrwhhnWh
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 31, 2026

In the only other game Sunday with play-off seeding implications, the Dallas Wings routed the Connecticut Sun 97-71 to move into a three-way tie for sixth place.

The Wings, New York Liberty and Washington Mystics are all 24-16 heading into the break and sit within two games of Atlanta and Indiana for fourth.

Dallas won its fourth straight behind Arike Ogunbowale’s 18 points, and the Sun (10-30) got 26 points from Aaliyah Edwards while falling for the 12th time in 15 games.