The Golden State Valkyries started a five game homestand on Thursday after a game on the road, welcoming the Indiana Fever to San Francisco. Even by the standards of the inaugural season so far, the arena atmosphere was excellent, and the Valkyries were able to gain momentum in the fourth quarter to get the 88-77 win. The team was able to bounce back from a disappointing loss in the previous game and will try to continue their run even while missing players.
The Lineup
There was no change to the starting lineup as the Valkyries were finally able to dress twelve players for the first time since the start of the month. Natalie Nakase continued to show no fear of trying new lineups, giving Chloe Bibby her first minutes in the first quarter and running lineups with two post players and no centers at times. The Indiana Fever were missing their head coach as Stephanie White had to attend to personal matters, so Austin Kelly filled in for the second time this season.
First Quarter
Aliyah Boston got the Fever on the board from the first possession of the game on her way to being the leading scorer in the frame, but the Valkyries scored the next seven points to force an Indiana timeout. Golden State’s momentum stalled out after that break, giving up a 14-0 run. Chloe Bibby, who had just entered the game two minutes earlier, scored her first ever WNBA basket on a nifty feed from Laeticia Amihere to stop the drought, but the Valkyries still trailed by nine points at the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter
Sophie Cunningham hit a three-pointer to start the period for the Fever, but Carla Leite scored on consecutive possessions to start a near-perfect quarter for her. She hit layups on two more drives and also assisted on a Chloe Bibby three-pointer. Golden State was able to trim the deficit to four points by the media timeout, but Caitlin Clark was able to score what turned out to be her only basket of the half after the stoppage. Another Bibby three-pointer dropped the gap to back to three points for the first time, but Aliyah Boston answered a pair of free throws with a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Indiana a lead of six points at the break.
Third Quarter
Kayla Thornton hit a three-pointer to start the half, but there were fears that Caitlin Clark was about to find her scoring rhythm when she was fouled on the next possession and hit all three free throws. Indiana did go on a 10-0 run to build their biggest lead of the game while Golden State went over five minutes without scoring. Tiffany Hayes ended the streak of misses though with Laeticia Amihere and Kate Martin scoring the last twelve points of the quarter for the team to leave the Valkyries facing a deficit of four points before the final frame.
Fourth Quarter
Tiffany Hayes set the tone early with the first basket of the quarter and then got an assist and scored another basket to give Golden State their first lead since the opening quarter. She continued her scoring and playmaking to keep that lead and then Veronica Burton gave the Valkyries some breathing room with a three-pointer. Kayla Thornton missed a pair of free throws, but hit a three-pointer after an offensive rebound before Indiana answered and only trailed by a basket again. Monique Billings scored off consecutive offensive rebounds, including her own miss to restore the lead and then she was replaced by Laeticia Amihere, who had found success attacking the basket on drives, for a surprising closing lineup. Thornton hit a three-pointer to give the Valkyries their first double-digit lead, but six consecutive free throws made in a two-minute stretch helped seal the win.
The Verdict
This team has had a couple of victories over teams expected to make the playoffs, but this win played out differently than their other big wins. Instead of seizing the lead and working to maintain it, the Valkyries had to fight back in this game and not let the opposition put the game out of reach. They also did that while missing key contributors, getting fantastic performances from new players. Golden State continued to have a winning record at home, a big deal with four more games in front of their fans to close the month.
Player of the Game
There were a number of superb performances in this game to secure the win as the bench was called upon to keep the team in the game and did that before helping them grab the lead too. This award will have to go to Tiffany Hayes for this game, not just for her solid offensive contributions, including leading the team in assists, but also for taking the defensive assignment on Caitlin Clark down the stretch and not letting her find shooting success. The Valkyries have been looking for late game leadership and having Hayes back and healthy should help them be prepared for those moments as she played the most minutes even while coming off the bench.
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