Image Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

WNBA Results, September 2: Fever Fall to Eighth Seed with Loss Against Mercury, Valkyries Move Closer to Clinching Playoff Berth With Win Over Liberty

Here's what happened in the WNBA on Tuesday, Sept 2.

Image Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

On Tuesday, September 2, the Golden State Valkyries turned around the New York Liberty’s early dominance and pulled off a crucial win over the reigning champions at home. This was the Valkyries’ fourth straight victory, and they moved closer to becoming the first expansion team to earn a playoff berth in an inaugural season. On the other hand, the Indiana Fever failed to survive the Phoenix Mercury, despite Kelsey Mitchell’s efforts to keep the team afloat throughout the game.

Here is a quick recap of both WNBA games scheduled on Tuesday night!

Golden State Valkyries 66-58 New York Liberty

The Golden State Valkyries solidified their stakes of clinching a playoff berth after taking down the New York Liberty in a low scoring affair. Temi Fahbenle led the Valkyries with 16 points and five rebounds, while Janelle Salaun had 10 points. Apart from them, Kate Martin scored 11 points off the bench. Monique Billings returned to the lineup after missing a total of 14 games with a right ankle sprain. In 20 minutes of action, she dropped five points and grabbed three rebounds. Recording their fifth straight win, the Valkyries are 21-18 in the season.

Kate really pulled up from there.

Kaitlyn with the… 3-point sprinkler? pic.twitter.com/kpqFFXQBId
— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) September 3, 2025

On the other hand, Natasha Cloud finished as top scorer for the Liberty with 19 points. She grabbed five rebounds, and dished out four assists while shooting 6-of-13 from the field and 3-of-7 from the three-point range. While it seemed that the game slipped off early from the hands of the Valkyries, they locked in defensively and restricted their counterparts to 8 points in the second quarter and 14 in the fourth to seal the deal.

us before the game: "Carla do somethin crazy again."

Carla: "ok" pic.twitter.com/kyHE1NHIFv
— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) September 3, 2025

Overall, Golden State held the Liberty to 18/57 field goals and 7/27 three pointers as compared to its 22/59 field goals and 7/26 three pointers.

Phoenix Mercury 85-79 Indiana Fever

Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell dropped game-best performance 29 points, four rebounds, and four assists but even that couldn’t help them move past the Phoenix Mercury. Phoenix recorded its fifth straight win by defeating the Fever 85-79 at PHX Arena. They were led by Alyssa Thomas, who dropped 23 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, while DeWanna Bonner scored 19 points off the bench. They have already booked their playoff spot and moved into a second-place tie with Las Vegas and Atlanta Dream at 26-14.

The @PhoenixMercury came up BIG, defeating the Indiana Fever, 85-79, to pick up their 5th-straight WIN!

👏 Alyssa Thomas: 23 PTS | 9 REB | 9 AST
👏 DeWanna Bonner: 19 PTS | 4 REB
👏 Satou Sabally: 13 PTS
👏 Kahleah Copper: 11 PTS | 3 REB
👏 Sami Whitcomb: 10 PTS | 2 3PM | 7 AST… pic.twitter.com/VCmpj6TYqx
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 3, 2025

On the other hand, the Fever were led by Mitchell, who recorded five three-pointers. Apart from her, Lexie Hull dropped 18 points and Aliyah Boston poured in 11 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. The Fever, who were without Caitlin Clark for the 19th straight game, fell back down to the eighth and final playoff spot in the standings.

Alyssa Thomas was EVERYWHERE tonight, dropping a near triple-double as the @PhoenixMercury win 5 in a row 🤩

23 PTS | 9 REB | 9 AST
#WelcometotheW

Postseason Push | @draftkings pic.twitter.com/FdZtbJ8xRP
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 3, 2025

The Fever shot 32/75 from the field, 9/25 from the three-point range and 6/8 from the free-throw line. On the contrary, the Mercury posted 30/66 from the field, 6/21 from beyond the arc, and 19/23 from the free-throw line.

2025 WNBA Standings

Following Tuesday-night games, this is how the 2025 WNBA Standings look like.

Team	Win	Losses	PCT
Minnesota Lynx (Q)	32	8	.800
Las Vegas Aces (Q)	26	14	.650
Atlanta Dream (Q)	26	14	.650
Phoenix Mercury (Q)	26	14	.650
New York Liberty (Q)	24	17	.585
Golden State Valkyries	22	18	.550
Seattle Storm	22	20	.524
Indiana Fever	21	20	.512
Los Angeles Sparks	19	20	.487
Washington Mystics (E)	16	25	.390
Connecticut Sun (E)	10	30	.250
Chicago Sky (E)	9	30	.231
Dallas Wings (E)	9	32	.220

Golden State Valkyires

Indiana Fever

New York Liberty

Phoenix Mercury

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.