SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Valkyries’ 86-75 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday had a familiar feel.

The Valkyries stayed competitive for as long as they could, but simply didn’t have the star power to make it a game late against the unbeaten Lynx.

Minnesota (7-0) overwhelmed the Valkyries with its depth and elite shot making as Golden State dropped its third straight game in front of a sellout crowd of 18,064 at Chase Center.

Lynx star Napheesa Collier returned from a right knee injury that kept her out for a game and scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Golden State’s Kate Martin, who hadn’t played much this season, had a career night. She came off the bench to score all of her career-high 14 points during a six-minute stretch in the second quarter.

The Valkyries (2-4) were led by Veronica Burton’s 21 points.

Minnesota jumped out to an early eight-point lead in the second quarter, but the advantage was short-lived, thanks to Martin.

Martin erupted on offense with an array of cutting layups, deep 3s and free throws. On one possession during her scoring flurry, Martin made an and-1, a 3 from the right wing and buried three more free throws.

That six-minute outburst in the second quarter enabled Martin to eclipse her single-game career-high in points, which had stood at 13.

Martin’s hot shooting, along with a solid team defensive performance. helped the Valkyries build a 52-51 lead at halftime. Golden State moved the ball well in the first two periods as they totaled 11 assists and held the Lynx to none.

But after a solid offensive showing in the first half, everything changed as the Valkyries went cold in the third quarter.

Golden State went 3 for 15 in the period while getting outscored 17-8. The Lynx used an 8-0 run in the middle of the quarter to take a nine-point lead at the 2:33 mark.

Minnesota kept its foot on the pedal after taking an eight-point lead after three periods. The Lynx outscored the Valkyries 15-1 through the first five minutes of the quarter to build an insurmountable lead.

Still, Golden State cut the deficit to 11, but it was too late as Minnesota kept fending off the Valkyries. Minnesota led by as much as 22 in the period as Golden State’s defense crumbled against Collier and Minnesota’s shooters.

Sunday’s contest was the first of six Commissioner’s Cup games the Valkyries will play throughout the rest of the month. The Commissioner’s Cup is an in-season competition in which the top teams in each conference with the best cup records play each other in a championship game with a $500,000 prize on the line.

Golden State veterans Cecilia Zandalasini, Kayla Thornton and Stephanie Talbot each have a Commissioner’s Cup championship on their resume. Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase won a cup title with Las Vegas in 2022.

Golden State will hit the road again when they play the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday before returning home to play the Las Vegas Aces in a nationally televised game on Saturday.