WNBA: A 28-6 second quarter puts Golden State level at the top

Ten minutes decided it

Golden State led Seattle 21-19 after the first quarter. By halftime the margin was 24. The Valkyries outscored the Storm 28-6 in the second period, closed their regular-season home schedule with a 70-57 win overnight in San Francisco, and pushed their winning run to six.

Juste Jocyte drove that quarter. The guard scored eight of her career-high 11 points inside the run, hitting two three-pointers, with Tiffany Hayes, Kaitlyn Chen and Kaila Charles adding one apiece. Golden State stretched the lead to 32 in the third before easing off.

$0.99

7-day trial

Full Pro access.
Try it for $0.99.

Picks · Injury reports · Trends · Tools · No ads — no commitment

Let’s do it

Three starters rested, no drop in output

Golden State again held out Gabby Williams, Janelle Salaun and Cecilia Zandalasini, a second straight night of rest for the three after the FIBA Women’s World Cup. The rest of the roster absorbed it. Charles led a balanced attack with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, Laeticia Amihere matched Jocyte on 11, and Hayes and Chen finished with 10 each. Hayes also handed out a game-high six assists.

Defensively the Valkyries dismantled Seattle. Charles and Kayla Thornton took four steals each, Kiah Stokes blocked four shots, and the Storm shot 33.3 percent for the night, scoring one point more than their season low.

The Lynx still hold the tiebreaker

Golden State sit at 31-11, tied with Minnesota in the win column with the Lynx at 31-10. Minnesota own the head-to-head, so the Valkyries need help. Two games remain on their schedule, at Portland and at Los Angeles. The Lynx have three, including a home-and-home pair against Indiana to finish.

Seattle (8-34) at least refused to be humiliated. Down 57-25 with just under eight minutes left in the third, the Storm outscored Golden State 32-13 from there and closed to 66-55 with 5:16 on the clock. Rookie Flau’jae Johnson led that push and finished with a game-high 17 points. Awa Fam added eight points and nine rebounds. The teams then combined for six points over the last five minutes.

Discover the rest of our WNBA news on MathODDS!

MathODDS App

Your picks,
in your pocket.

Predictions · Trends · Tools · Injury reports
Real-time notifications & alerts

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

MathODDS

→

★★★★★