Valkyries hold off comeback from Storm, win third straight game
SAN FRANCISCO Despite being smaller at almost every position on the court the Valkyries outmuscled the visiting Seattle Storm Behind a stingy defensive performance the Valkyries defeated the Storm - on Saturday to win their third straight meeting Golden State led by more than points in the second half but Seattle made things close in the fourth quarter The Valkyries closed out the final period strong to down the Storm s comeback bid Saturday s battle took place in front of a crowd of the band s fifth straight home sellout of the season Golden State Valkyries Head Coach Natalie Nakase talks to her organization from the sidelines in the second half against the Seattle Storm at the Chase Center in San Francisco CA on Saturday June Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Thank God we definitely came out with the lead because when you do have a lead now you don t have to play damn near perfect in the third and fourth Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase reported We knew Seattle was going to throw punches We knew they re a great association super talented and experienced Kayla Thornton led the Valkyries with points and rebounds Carla Leite totaled points in her first career start Temi F gb nl added points and seven rebounds Skylar Diggins led Seattle with points Stanford alum Nneka Ogwumike had six points The Valkyries won the points in the paint battle - and held Seattle to shooting from the field Our zone defense did great Thornton declared Nneka is a great performer in this league and we just crowded her We made it hard for the bigs to get shots Kayla Thornton of the Golden State Valkyries battles for a loose ball in the second half against Ezi Magbegor of the Seattle Storm at the Chase Center in San Francisco CA on Saturday June Don Feria for Bay Area News Group After a strong defensive first quarter that saw the Valkyries hold the Storm to points Golden State built its lead even further in the second A run capped off by a driving layup from Leite pushed the Valkyries lead to just two minutes into the period Golden State led by as much as and went into halftime with a - lead Despite being undersized at almost every position the Valkyries held the Storm to points in the paint and shooting from the field in the first half Kayla Thornton led Golden State with points and eight rebounds through two quarters In the third the Valkyries ballooned their lead to as big as after a reverse layup from F gb nl Related Articles Golden State Valkyries likely to face WNBA star in San Francisco next week Rookie Janelle Sala n temporarily departs from Valkyries to compete in EuroBasket Valkyries sign veteran guard Aerial Powers What we learned from the Valkyries overtime win over the Sparks Valkyries come up clutch late top Sparks in overtime win But even after going down big Seattle didn t lay down The Storm cut the Valkyries lead to just five with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter But F gb nl closed the door on the Storm s comeback after scoring a layup off an offensive rebound with seconds left in the contest that pushed the Valkyries lead back to seven I just think we re and not getting out of the moment Thornton declared Seattle is a great group and we just had to stay with it We revealed a way to get it done and that s what I m proud of my group about Golden State improved its Commissioner s Cup record to - and will play its final cup contest on Tuesday at Dallas The Golden State Valkyries dispatch of the visiting Seattle Storm at the Chase Center in San Francisco CA on Saturday June Don Feria for Bay Area News Group
