Game Recap: Regular Season Game 1 vs Los Angeles Sparks

The Golden State Valkyries played their first ever regular season game on Friday, hosting the Los Angeles Sparks in front of a sellout crowd, but fell short 84-67. While there were moments of brilliance, there were also struggles with turnovers and shooting that made it harder for the team to stay competitive. The team has a relatively long break of four days without a game to clean up some of the offensive issues in practice with a chance to get healthier.

Lineup

After using the same starting lineup in both preseason games, the Valkyries went smaller by replacing Monique Billings with Kate Martin, shifting Kayla Thornton from the 3 to the 4. With fewer post options, this did make some sense in managing the minutes within the rotations, but was an interesting choice given that the Sparks had an imbalance towards post players on their own roster, although they did start smaller with Odyssey Sims taking the place of Rae Burrell since their matchup in the preseason. While Golden State did get Martin back after she missed the second preseason game, Cecilia Zandalasini and Stephanie Talbot remained injured and Janelle Salaun was unavailable after just making it into town to be introduced with the rest of the team.

First Quarter

After grabbing a rebound on the opening possession, Kayla Thornton took the first shot to score the first points in Golden State Valkyries history. Temi Fagbenle scored the next basket and the team looked ready to extend the lead before the Sparks got their first score in transition. The teams traded baskets before the game hit the media timeout tied and both sides made their first substitutions. Carla Leite took two shots from behind the arc as soon as she entered and the second one saw Rae Burrell suffer what appeared to be a serious injury on the closeout, leaving the Sparks with one bench player who could play guard. The Sparks took the lead as Kelsey Plum broke a tie, but Tiffany Hayes hit a three-pointer in the final minute to get the lead back. With a solid offensive effort when they could get a shot, the team’s 7 turnovers led to 10 points for the Sparks and prevented the Valkyries from building a bigger lead.

Second Quarter

The Valkyries could not continue the momentum early, but still had the advantage halfway through the period. The Sparks then went on a 9-0 run to build a lead that they held into the break. Neither team was having the success that they were hoping for beyond the arc, but the Sparks were able to execute on offense with a 30-14 advantage in the paint. All available Valkyries players played in the first half.

Third Quarter

The game stayed close after the break, but the Sparks went on a 16-3 run in the middle of the quarter spanning the media timeout. Golden State rallied for the final three minutes though, fueled by three consecutive Julie Vanloo three-pointers in a 44 second span to bring the crowd back into the game too. The Valkyries missed chances to get closer, but the deficit was trimmed to 66-60 even though Kelsey Plum had been nearly unstoppable with 17 of her team’s 24 points.

Fourth Quarter

Tiffany Hayes score the first basket of the final frame, but consecutive turnovers prevented the Valkyries from even being able to take a shot to get within another bucket. Odyssey Sims scored the next 5 points to ignite an 18-5 run to close out the game and win 84-65. Turnovers at critical times kept the offense from sustaining any momentum in addition to their cold shooting and left them unable to keep up with the Sparks, which got a near-perfect quarter from Kelsey Plum as she played every minute of the game and finished with 37 points. The team did close out the game with Julie Vanloo and Monique Billings joining starters Hayes, Kayla Thornton, and Temi Fagbenle in the lineup.

Verdict

While there were good moments in the game, there were also struggles that kept them from building a lead and then kept them from getting the critical baskets that would have helped them make a final push. Turnovers at critical moments just made scoring too hard. The defense played well at times, but also had its struggles, allowing Kelsey Plum to have an incredible game against them. A few days to work out these issues should help the team and any extra energy from the it being first game should settle down before the next game. The team will also get a change to measure themselves against Los Angeles when they visit the Sparks on Friday.

Player of the Game

This choice for the first regular season game is not quite as straightforward as it was for the two preseason games. Even though a number of players had strong moments, those who contributed the most also had stretches with struggles. Temi Fagbenle will be chosen after she contributed 15 point, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in 32 minutes. She offered consistency in both halves battling in the paint and showed flashes of what she could do differently for the team this season compared to the rest of her career, knocking down a pair of three-pointers in the first half and then showing her playmaking in the second half to lead the team in assists.