Three rotation players out, and it barely showed
Two French players were missing. Golden State still got it done.
The Valkyries rolled past Portland 82-66 overnight. Gabby Williams and Janelle Salaun were fresh off the FIBA World Cup final with France against the United States. Cecilia Zandalasini, meanwhile, was rested after her run with Italy.
Three rotations down. Still, the bench answered the call.
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Seventeen points off the bench from a player nobody was watching
Kaitlyn Chen came off the bench and blew the game open. She finished with 17 points and five threes, the best shooting night of her career.
Laeticia Amihere added 17 points. Tiffany Hayes had 13 points and seven assists. Kayla Thornton also scored 13, along with four rebounds.
In all, Golden State knocked down 13 three-pointers. Thornton and rookie Juste Jocyte hit three each. When shots are falling like that, there is not much the other side can do.
Five straight wins one way, six losses in seven the other
The Valkyries have now strung together five straight wins. Their record moves to 30-11. The World Cup break clearly did them no harm.
Portland, not so much. Frieda Buhner led the Fire with 14 points. Nyadiew Puoch put up 11 points and eight rebounds. It was a third straight loss for the team, and their sixth in the last seven games.
The regular season is nearly done. One side is surging. The other is stuck in reverse.
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