Rupert hits five 3s for career-high 21 points, Valkyries beat Fever 75-63

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Iliana Rupert scored a career-high 21 points and the Golden State Valkyries beat the Indiana Fever 75-63 on Sunday night to move closer to a playoff berth in their first season.

The Valkyries (21-18) shot 7 for 8 on 3-pointers in the first quarter and led by 20 before finishing 12 for 19 behind the arc — five from Rupert — and trimmed their magic number to three with five games remaining. They are 2 1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles and bunched with the Fever (21-19) and Seattle (22-19) for playoff seeding.

Janelle Salaun and Kate Martin both added 10 points for Golden State and Veronica Burton had 13 assists.

Reserve Aerial Powers scored 17 points to lead the Fever, who are still without reigning Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark. Kelsey Mitchell had 14 points and Natasha Howard 13 but Aliyah Boston was held to four, almost 12 below her average.

The game had a long delay in the opening minutes because of technical difficulties with the shot clocks, which went out with the Fever on top 3-2. After it was determined to play with temporary shot clocks on the baseline, ending a 20-minute delay, the Valkyries took off, making four consecutive 3s.

By the end of the quarter the Valkyries had a 25-14 lead and a franchise record for 3s in a quarter.

They quickly pushed the lead to 20 but the Fever recovered from the foul line and trailed 44-32 at the half.

Indiana pulled to 55-50 with 7 1/2 minutes to play when the Valkyries began hitting 3s again. Golden State was 8 of 12 in the fourth quarter and Indiana was 5 of 15.

Fever visit Phoenix on Tuesday, and Valkyries host New York.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) shoots a 3-point basket over Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco 49ers NFL football players George Kittle, third from left, Ricky Pearsall, right, and Kyle Juszczyk, left, cheer on the sideline in the first half of a WNBA basketball game as the Golden State Valkyries played the Indiana Fever in San Francisco, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark reacts at the end of the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Golden State Valkyries, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Valkyries' Veronica Burton (22) goes up to shoot in the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Indiana Fever in San Francisco, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Golden State Valkyries' Kate Martin (20) and Kaila Charles (6) go up for a rebound against Indiana Fever's Aerial Powers (23) in the first half of a WNBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.

Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.

She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.

The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.

On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.

Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.

The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.

American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.

For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.

Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”

Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.

Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)