The Golden State Valkyries returned home on Wednesday to play three games ahead of the Commissioner’s Cup break. It started with the first of two games in a row against the Atlanta Dream and an excellent first half defensive effort gave them a big halftime lead. They looked to be cruising in the second half, but Atlanta’s bench suddenly made a fourth quarter run before the Valkyries closed out a 77-66 win as the teams get ready to meet again.
The Lineup
There were no late surprises for either team as they did not activate any developmental players and kept the same lineups. The Valkyries had to make some changes from their usual rotations and Laeticia Amihere entered in the first half to combat all of the height for Atlanta. There ended up being more mixing up of the lineups than usual to adjust to the game situation.
First Quarter
Atlanta scored first, but Kayla Thornton made a three-pointer to respond immediately. The Dream were able to score on the next trip down the floor after being able to secure multiple offensive rebounds and then extended the lead, missing the free throw on a three-point play. Thornton scored again on an impressive move with Atlanta scoring next before Veronica Burton got into the act with a heavily-contested floater. The Dream maintained their lead as Thornton missed two free throws and then Gabby Williams took advantage of a defensive matchup to score before the media timeout.
Williams took over after the stoppage as both teams started making substitutions, hitting a pair of free throws to tie the score and then taking the lead with a three-pointer. Janelle Salaun answered an Atlanta basket with two three-pointers, helping erase the memory of a tough team shooting effort in the last game. An Atlanta basket led to a Valkyries timeout and Kaitlyn Chen entered, but took contact to the face defending a fast break and had to leave immediately as the replay review did not add anything to the foul call on her either. Kaila Charles ended up in perfect position to grab an offensive rebound and scored the last basket of the quarter for a 22-18 lead.
Second Quarter
Veronica Burton made a layup on the first possession of the quarter and made a pair of free throws early. Golden State struggled to score early though, relying on their defense to keep the lead. Gabby Williams ended the drought and then got a big block that led to a Kayla Thornton three-pointer and an Atlanta timeout.
The run stretched to 10-0 after that with a Williams layup followed by a Cecilia Zandalasini three-pointer before the defense could get set. The Dream scored finally only to give up another make behind the arc to Williams. Laeticia Amihere had her second emphatic block after entering the game and the Valkyries took a timeout, getting a Thornton three-pointer when action resumed. Golden State challenged a foul call from the scramble for a rebound and did not win. Amihere scored her first basket by clearing out to give Burton space to work on her defender before making the precise cut needed to generate a perfect reverse layup. Atlanta made two free throws to leave the margin at 44-27 at the break.
Third Quarter
Veronica Burton also opened the scoring in this quarter with a tough layup, but Atlanta responded immediately in a bid to turn around their offense from the first half. The Valkyries extended their lead instead with a pair of Cecilia Zandalasini free throws before she made a three-pointer. The Dream scored next, but let Golden State get three chances on one trip with Gabby Williams cashing in with a layup. Atlanta scored before the media timeout as neither team was in rhythm.
Laeticia Amihere had entered early in this quarter and got fouled, making one of the free throws. Gabby Williams responded to a Dream basket with a three-pointer and then Amihere extended the lead to a new high with a three-pointer from the corner to force an Atlanta timeout. They eventually responded, but Williams made another layup before the final minutes. Golden State was looking to close strong only to be whistled for a foul that was ruled to be right before the buzzer sounded, giving up the two free throws to still lead 63-40.
Fourth Quarter
Atlanta decided to start the quarter with none of their starters on the floor and ended up scoring the first eleven points of the period with excellent contributions from both post players. The Valkyries tried to stem the tide with a timeout and bringing their starters back, but only got on the board after the Dream also brought back starters as Cecilia Zandalasini continued the great night from long-range to give them some breathing room. Atlanta continued their push with a Kayla Thornton three-pointer coming next to maintain the margin. After a couple of quiet minutes, both offenses got going late to give Golden State the 77-66 win. Gabby Williams drove in for another contested layup with Thornton and Zandalasini putting a bow on the game with two more three-pointers.
Player of the Game
There were several standout performances in this game with the award going to Kayla Thornton this time. Her scoring was key early in the game and then she had a pair of fourth quarter makes too as she had as many three-pointers as the whole team did in the last game, leading the charge in a much better output from beyond the arc this time. Her defensive versatility was on display again as preserving other matchups left her at times guarding a guard with ball-handling responsibilities in Isobel Borlase and facing towering center Madina Okot at other times.
The Verdict
This was a good win even though the fourth quarter ended up being rather tense when it looked like it was going to be a chance to get every player some extended time on the court instead. The rest would have been good with the teams set to meet again immediately as the Valkyries will be trying to put in another good defensive effort. Both coaches made a number of adjustments to try to counter the other team and every possession was a learning opportunity to try to get the edge in upcoming matchups. The tough stretch in the schedule is not ending and getting a win instead of continuing the losing streak was a big deal.
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