The Golden State Valkyries returned home on Monday to play the Los Angeles Sparks, looking to pick up another win ahead of an extremely tough stretch in the schedule. They took the lead early, making life difficult for the visitors on offense and building a big halftime lead. The Valkyries cooled down in the second half, but continued to get the job done on defense in a 78-58 win.
The Lineup
Both teams went with the same starting lineups as the last game and largely kept the same rotations. With the game decided in the quarter, both teams went deeper into their bench than recent games meaning that Juste Jocyte and Laeticia Amihere played the last couple minutes. Kate Martin was the only developmental player active on either team and she got the pregame video tribute celebrating her time with the team last year in her first return since departing the Valkyries.
First Quarter
After a defensive stop on the opening possession, the Valkyries got on the board first when Kiah Stokes was left open in the corner and made the three-pointer. The Valkyries got a third chance after offensive rebounds and Gabby Williams drove in for a layup. The team’s defense continued to get the job done, letting Veronica Burton extend the lead with a three-pointer. Los Angeles finally got their first points on back-to-back baskets. Williams was fouled on a fast break, but also picked up a technical foul in the process, allowing the Sparks to get within two points after a free throw before she made both shots on the other end. Cecilia Zandalasini, who contributed on both ends early, scored her first basket next.
Los Angeles answered with Janelle Salaun hitting a contested three-pointer next as the first player coming off of the bench. Williams called her own number to set up a good opportunity in the paint and then a foul sent the game to a very late media timeout that allowed both teams to bring in their second units. The Sparks hit the free throws after the stoppage, but those ended up being their last points of the quarter. Kayla Thornton made her first basket as she returned to the game, running the floor well to set up a layup. Kaitlyn Chen faked out her defender to set up a drive and score and then Salaun made four free throws for the 25-10 lead.
Second Quarter
The bench continued to score early in this quarter with Tiffany Hayes and Kaitlyn Chen scoring on consecutive baskets. Cameron Brink took advantage of the Valkyries running their smaller lineup, scoring the next eight points for the Sparks with assists from Erica Wheeler. The first two scores forced a Valkyries timeout and only a Kayla Thornton basket kept it from being a bigger run. Los Angeles scored again and then Kate Martin forced a jumpball, but more or less intentionally committed a violation to make sure that Kiah Stokes could not win it cleanly.
Forcing the Valkyries to initiate their offense from an inbounds play did not stop them from getting back on track as part of an excellent second half of the frame. Veronica Burton scored first and then Cecilia Zandalasni got a steal before exploiting a size mismatch in the post for another basket. The Sparks did not slow down, briefly cutting their deficit to single digits before Gabby Williams found a driving lane again with Burton getting into the paint next. Kaila Charles, who assisted on the previous two baskets, finished out the half strong with a free throw, layup, and a wide open three-pointer from the corner for a 45-26 lead.
Third Quarter
Cecilia Zandalasini made a layup on the first possession, but neither team found much of a rhythm after that. A three-pointer from Veronica Burton gave the Valkyries hopes of putting the game out of reach, but Sparks were able to score on four straight possessions with only a Cecilia Zandalasini jumpshot keeping it from being more of a run. Kaila Charles returned after a strong first half and scored before the media timeout.
After the stoppage, the Valkyries were able to get to the free throw line, getting one make from Kiah Stokes and two makes from Tiffany Hayes. Charles was in the flow when she made a three-pointer from the wing, but that ended up being the last field goal for the Valkyries in the quarter with over three minutes to play. Los Angeles went on a 9-0 run before Burton was fouled bringing the ball up the court. The play was quickly reviewed, but the foul was not upgraded and she made one of the two free throws to leave the advantage at 61-47.
Fourth Quarter
Wary of a repeat of their last fourth quarter performance, Veronica Burton scored the first point of the quarter on a free throw and Gabby Williams continued the theme of attacking whichever defensive matchup was favorable for another basket. Los Angeles responded, but Kaila Charles made a key offensive play again to grow the lead as both teams took timeouts around the midway point of the quarter.
Williams made a three-pointer and then came up with a steal, getting fouled by Kelsey Plum quickly in frustration, which was ruled to be a transition take foul that also ended Plum’s night as she hit the limit. The free throw was made as the Sparks started to concede the game with their substitutions, but they actually avoided falling much further behind. Kayla Thornton made a pair of free throws and Gabby Williams made one more tough drive into the paint while the defense continued to do its job. Cecilia Zandalasini entered the game late and scored again with neither team content to playing out the final minute meaning that Kaitlyn Chen grabbed the last points of the game with a fast break layup for the 78-58 final margin.
Player of the Game
Different players contributed heavily at different times to secure the win, but this award will go to Kaila Charles for the game for her all-around performance. Pretty much everyone had a positive impact in the first quarter in build the lead and then she took on a big role in the second quarter, making additional contributions on the offensive end with her playmaking to surpass her assist total from any game this year in that quarter alone. She ended up as the team leader in that category and continued to rebound well for her position, leading the team there too. Her scoring efforts were also among her best so far this year and her ability to score when given the opportunity will just make her all that more dangerous along with her defense.
The Verdict
The Valkyries were looking for a game where they could impose themselves on defense early and build a lead that they could maintain for the rest of the game. That was the path that this game took with good work on both ends in the first half. While the team cooled off in the second half, they did not hit the prolonged drought that almost cost them in the previous game and built the advantage back in the end. They have struggled at times to slow down the star players for the opposition, but they stymied the Los Angeles starters in this game, not allowing any of them to reach double-figure scoring. The team is about to enter an especially difficult portion of their schedule, so this was the momentum builder that was needed.
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