Valkyries find way to win late against Sky behind career nights from Kayla Thornton, Kaitlyn Chen

SAN FRANCISCO For preponderance of Friday s competition against the Chicago Sky the Valkyries didn t look like themselves The usually heady efficient crew struggled to make shots take care of the ball and string together solid defensive possessions But none of that mattered as Golden State escaped with a - win over the struggling Sky in front of fans the squad s ninth consecutive home sellout Kayla Thornton scored a career-high points and grabbed six rebounds Kaitlyn Chen also had a career night with points Kate Martin had points Sky center Angel Reese totaled points and grabbed rebounds The Valkyries took a two-point lead into the final quarter and were neck-and-neck with the Sky throughout the first scant minutes of the period The Valkyries capped off a - run on a steal and tally from Thornton that forced Chicago coach Tyler Marsh to call a timeout and made the result - Golden State didn t allow Chicago to get back in the competition as they outpaced the Sky with a flurry of buckets from Martin and Thornton The Sky brought the tournament back to within three with seconds left but a costly foul from Angel Reese led to two made free throws from Tiffany Hayes that iced the championship The first half was choppy for the Valkyries Despite Chicago having one of the worst defenses in the league Golden State shot just from the field and committed eight turnovers Thornton was on the bench for the majority of the first minutes as she picked up two early fouls and was hit in the face inadvertently by Reese in the first quarter She led the Valkyries with points in the first half Backup point guard Kaitlyn Chen gave the Valkyries a boost scoring seven off the bench Golden State led by as much as nine in the second quarter and took a - lead at halftime The Valkyries will finish their five-game on Sunday when they play the Seattle Storm