The Golden State Valkyries continued their homestand on Wednesday when they welcomed the Dallas Wings to San Francisco. They were looking to continue their winning streak against a team coming off of their most impressive win of the season. The visitors started well and it looked like the Valkyries might be in trouble early. They managed to hang in there in the first quarter and then dominated the second quarter to take a lead by halftime. The opposition fought back in the second half, but Golden State had the better fourth quarter to win 91-80.
The Lineup
Neither team made changes to their starting lineups as none of the developmental players were activated. With Dallas employing a taller starting lineup, the Valkyries changed their rotations, bringing in Laeticia Amihere in the first quarter to make sure that they had another center in for a while before figuring out when to run their smallball lineups. With certain combinations working and several players making big impacts off of the bench, there were also lots of adjustments and minutes changes to field the most effective lineups in the second half.
First Quarter
Neither team had success on their early possessions before Dallas opened the scoring. Cecilia Zandalasini responded immediately, but the Wings scored the next two baskets. Gabby Williams made two tough offensive moves to keep the Valkyries close only for them to need a timeout after a Dallas three-pointer. The break did not help them get settled on offense as the Wings scored again before Kaila Charles picked up where she left off in the last game and made her first three-point attempt. Dallas scored twice before Tiffany Hayes faked out her defender for a baseline drive and layup and then made consecutive three-pointers to make things look bleak for Golden State. Janelle Salaun completed a three-point play and then connected from beyond the arc as well with the opposition scoring three points for the 26-17 lead at the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter
Janelle Salaun got fouled on the first possession of the quarter and made one of the free throws and then Tiffany Hayes made a three-pointer, but Dallas looked to get back on track by matching them. Instead, the Valkyries went on a huge scoring run starting with a pair of Kaitlyn Chen drives. Gabby Williams made a three-pointer to force a Wings timeout, made one free throw to get the deficit within a point and then gave them the lead behind the arc on the next trip down the floor. Kayla Thornton got into the act from distance, leading to another timeout.
The defense continued to step up and Williams scored again before missing her next shot. Thornton grabbed the rebound and attempted a putback, initially drawing a foul call before a Dallas challenge led to those free throws not being awarded after the replay review. Even that play could not really stop the Valkyries offense as Chen banked in a three-pointer to make it a double-digit lead. The Wings finally ended the run at 19-0, but Chen had an answer for them again and Kiah Stokes made her first basket for the 44-33 halftime lead.
Third Quarter
After such a tremendous previous quarter, the start to the second half was not smooth as Dallas scored the first eight points to force a quick Golden State timeout. The stoppage did not help them find their shot, but Gabby Williams grabbed a miss and was fouled on the layup, converting the three-point play. The Wings kept finding ways to score as the Valkyries got in rhythm again with a Burton three-point play being followed by her three-pointer and another one from Kayla Thornton. Williams made another free throw and Tiffany Hayes continued her quick scoring impact off of the bench with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws. Dallas closed the gap to two points at 64-62 by the end of the quarter though with all of their guards suddenly firing as only a pair of Janelle Salaun free throws keeping it from getting worse with their buzzer-beating shot from distance.
Fourth Quarter
Kaitlyn Chen scored on the first Golden State possession of the quarter and Gabby Williams scored next to make Dallas take the early timeout and send their starters back into the game. Veronica Burton made a three-pointer and Williams got fouled on an attempt, making all three free throws to give the Valkyries some breathing room again. Kayla Thornton was next at the free throw line with a pair of makes and Janelle Salaun restored the double-digit lead with a three-pointer. Chen scored again, but Dallas began making one last push, leading to a Valkyries timeout.
The Wings score again after the stoppage, but both teams missed chances before it was Chen on the drive again with another layup. She missed the free throw that would have made it a three-point play as Golden State was able to run some time off the clock with offensive rebounds. Dallas got their own layup, but Burton got a steal and drew the foul to restore the lead. Rebounds was the story again when Kaila Charles crashed the offensive boards and got a layup. The Wings were unable to get the steal that they needed and started to foul to extend the game. Charles and Williams each split a pair of free throws before Williams made her last two for the final 91-80 margin.
Player of the Game
There were a number of great efforts off of the bench to keep the game from getting away early and then starting the comeback that ultimately got the win, but in terms of total contributions over the course of the entire game, this award will go to Gabby Williams. While the rest of the team was having trouble scoring early, she had a pair of baskets and then was a big part of the scoring run in the second quarter to get the lead. This was another game where she drew the defensive assignment on the opponent’s primary ballhandler and she continued to do excellent work on that end as well.
The Verdict
This was a good win for the Valkyries against a good team even when nothing went as planned at the start. With some recent games settling into more of a pattern, the solutions in this game required some creativity and staying with adjustments after they began to work. This may be the game where the team evaluates the rotation and substitution pattern of recent games and makes an earlier change to avoid slow starts. The competition does not get any easier with the next two weeks of games and any edge than can be found will be a big help in securing more big wins.
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