The Golden State Valkyries continued their road trip on Wednesday with a noon tipoff in Indiana. They fell behind early in the first quarter, but fought back to build a lead by halftime and then played well in the second half to get their second win over the Fever by a comfortable 80-61 margin. The win got the Valkyries back to a winning record as they finish the road trip in Las Vegas on Saturday.
The Lineup
Natalie Nakase made another change to the lineup for this game and opted against the double-post group from the last game, bringing in Kate Martin alongside Veronica Burton, Tiffany Hayes, Kayla Thornton, and Temi Fagbenle. Carla Leite was fully available again and was one of the first substitutes to come in during the first quarter. Stephanie Talbot joined Cecilia Zandalasini in not playing at all.
The Indiana Fever also made their own lineup tweak with Caitlin Clark returning from her injury. Instead of having her come in for Aari McDonald, who had been filling in at point guard, Stephanie White chose to run a three-guard lineup with Clark and McDonald in at the same time alongside Kelsey Mitchell, leaving both of their wings coming off of the bench.
First Quarter
Both teams had turnovers and misses in the first couple of minutes before Veronica Burton opened the scoring. The Indiana three-guard lineup looked strong early with all of them scoring as part of getting points on five consecutive possessions. The Fever continued to score consistently on their way to a 23 point quarter, but Monique Billings came off the bench to score twice and Carla Leite hit all three free throws after being fouled beyond the arc to trim what had been a deficit of nine points, allowing Kaitlyn Chen and Janelle Salaun to get layups to finish the quarter on a 7-0 run and only trail by a basket.
Second Quarter
Indiana continued to find success on offense early with a 7-2 run only broken up by a Laeticia Amihere layup. Veronica Burton hit a three-pointer with seven and a half minutes left and that started a big Valkyries run after she assisted on a Kaitlyn Chen three-pointer next. Janelle Salaun gave Golden State their first lead since the opening basket before the Fever scored again to tie the score. The Valkyries then scored nine points to finish the latter half of the quarter as Kayla Thornton, who had some misses early, and Tiffany Hayes did all of the damage as part of a 18-2 surge overall.
Third Quarter
Wary of late struggles after good starts on the road in past games, the Valkyries were looking to maintain their lead early in the second half. Kayla Thornton was flagrantly fouled on a fast break and hit one of the free throws before Kate Martin scored twice to increase the run bridging the half to 15-0. Indiana began to recover after taking a timeout, scoring on four straight possessions, but Kayla Thornton helped Golden State keep their lead. While the Fever did not get the usual production from their starting post duo, the bench tandem of Mikayla Timpson and Damiris Dantas scored ten consecutive points for them to cut the deficit to 55-50. Veronica Burton hit two three-pointers and combined with Carla Leite on a 9-0 run though to restore the advantage going into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Temi Fagbenle hit a pair of free throws to start the quarter and the Valkyries played excellent defense again to shut the door on any dramatic comeback attempts. Kayla Thornton and Veronica Burton each had six points to outscore the Fever between them. Indiana emptied their bench to close the day and fell back down to a losing record while Golden State returned to having a winning record.
The Verdict
After a lot of tough road losses, this was a massive victory for the Valkyries against an Indiana team that was back to having all of their players available. Even though it looked like it would be tough early, the team stuck with the gameplan on offense and clamped down on defense to build and keep their lead. Three losses to start the road trip would have been a big blow to momentum, but the team now has the chance to close it with two wins, which would guarantee avoiding a losing record before the All Star Break, a huge psychological edge for the second half of the year.
Player of the Game
For her consistent contributions in this game, this award will go to Veronica Burton, who was the leading scorer in the game, led the team in assists and tied for the lead in rebounding. She is not always asked to provide scoring for the Valkyries and has been a consistent playmaker, but she has also had these games where her scoring has been critical to securing a win. With Golden State bouncing back from a tough defensive performance with an excellent effort on that end and she continues to be a key part of a strong team defense.
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