A second quarter that blew the game open
Golden State wrapped up its home regular season with a 70-57 win over the Seattle Storm on Saturday night in San Francisco. It was the Valkyries’ sixth straight victory.
It was all settled in a 10-minute burst. Ahead 21-19 after the first quarter, the Californians ripped off a 28-6 run against Seattle to go into halftime with a 24-point cushion. Juste Jocyte sparked it with two three-pointers, with Tiffany Hayes, Kaitlyn Chen and Kaila Charles all following suit.
Jocyte finished with 11 points, a career high, eight of them in that second period alone. Kaila Charles posted the game’s best line with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Laeticia Amihere added 11 points, Hayes had 10 and six assists, and Chen also scored 10.
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Top spot goes on the line this week
The result has a direct impact on the standings. At 31-11, Golden State is level with Minnesota (31-10) on wins, with first place in the league hanging in the balance by a half-game.
The schedule will decide it. The Valkyries have two games left, at Portland and then in Los Angeles. The Lynx have three, including a home-and-away set against the Indiana Fever to finish. And Minnesota holds the head-to-head tiebreaker if it comes to that.
Golden State got this win without Gabby Williams, Janelle Salaun or Cecilia Zandalasini, all rested for a second straight night after the FIBA World Cup. This roster can still stand up without its internationals, and that is the real takeaway this week with the playoffs looming.
Seattle has little left to salvage
The Storm (8-34) were on the ropes for 30 minutes before stirring. Down 57-25 with eight minutes left in the third quarter, Seattle finished on a 32-13 run and cut it to 66-55 with 5:16 left.
Too late, and not enough. The two teams managed just six points between them after that. Seattle shot 33.3% and finished only one point shy of its worst total of the season.
Rookie Flau’jae Johnson led the fightback with 17 points, the most in the game. Awa Fam grabbed nine rebounds and scored eight points. For Golden State, Charles and Kayla Thornton each collected four boards, while Kiah Stokes blocked four shots. A defensive scrap, won by the defence.
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