SAN FRANCISCO — Regardless of being smaller at nearly each place on the courtroom, the Valkyries outmuscled the visiting Seattle Storm.
Behind a stingy defensive efficiency, the Valkyries defeated the Storm 76-70 on Saturday to win their third straight sport.
Golden State led by greater than 20 factors within the second half, however Seattle made issues shut within the fourth quarter. The Valkyries closed out the ultimate interval sturdy to down the Storm’s comeback bid.
Saturday’s sport befell in entrance of a crowd of 18,064 – the crew’s fifth straight dwelling sellout of the season.
Kayla Thornton led the Valkyries with 20 factors and 12 rebounds. Carla Leite totaled 14 factors. Temi Fágbénlé added 16 factors and 7 rebounds.
Skylar Diggins led Seattle with 21 factors. Stanford alum Nneka Ogwumike had six factors.
After a powerful defensive first quarter that noticed the Valkyries maintain the Storm to fifteen factors, Golden State constructed its lead even additional within the second.
A 12–2 run, capped off by a driving layup from Leite, pushed the Valkyries’ result in 14 simply two minutes into the interval. Golden State led by as a lot as 15 and went into halftime with a 44-31 lead.
Regardless of being undersized at nearly each place, the Valkyries held the Storm to 10 factors within the paint and 37.9% taking pictures from the sector within the first half. Kayla Thornton led Golden State with 11 factors and eight rebounds by way of two quarters.
Within the third, the Valkyries ballooned their result in as huge as 22 after a reverse layup from Fágbénlé.
However even after happening huge, Seattle didn’t lay down.
The Storm minimize the Valkyries’ result in simply 5 with slightly below two minutes left within the fourth quarter. However Fágbénlé closed the door on the Storm’s comeback after scoring a layup off an offensive rebound with 50 seconds left within the sport that pushed the Valkyries’ lead again to seven.
Golden State improved its Commissioner’s Cup document to 3-2 and can play its closing cup sport on Tuesday at Dallas.
