Golden State Valkyries: Takeaways from win over Paige Bueckers-led Wings

SAN FRANCISCO — Without their leading scorer and All-Star, the Golden State Valkyries leaned on what has been their calling card all season to secure a crucial win over the Dallas Wings on Friday. 

After a sluggish first half, the Valkyries strung together enough stops when they needed to as they downed the visiting Wings to notch a 86-76 win in front of their 12th consecutive sellout crowd of 18,064. 

Golden State captured its first win without Kayla Thornton in the starting lineup. The 31-year-old forward was ruled out for the season after suffering a knee injury at practice earlier this week. 

“This was a nice team win. This was for KT,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “I thought everyone stepped up and we talked about doing a little bit more because we’re gonna miss her.”

The Valkyries shot 42.2% from the field and outscored the Wings 56-40 in the second half. 

Five players scored in double figures for the Valkyries. 

Janelle Salaün led the Valkyries with 16 points. Tiffany Hayes added 15 points and five assists while rookie guard Carla Leite totaled 14 points. 

Paige Bueckers, the top overall pick in April’s draft, scored 17 points, dished out six assists and had four steals. 

The Valkyries shot 30.3% from the field in the first half and trailed by as much as 11. Janelle Salaün and Tiffany Hayes combined to score 16 points to keep the Valkyries within striking distance as the Wings took a 36-30 lead at halftime. 

But the Valkyries found their groove in the third quarter, outscoring Dallas 33-24 in the period to take a 63-60 lead going into the final 10 minutes of play. Golden State hit five of their eight 3-point attempts in the quarter after shooting 25% from beyond the arc in the first half. 

The Valkyries never allowed the Wings to take back the lead in the fourth quarter and outpaced Dallas to win their first game in 16 days. The Valkyries made six of their eight free throw attempts in the final 1:54 of the game ice the game in closing moments.

The Valkyries will embark on a five-game road trip starting with a game at the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. Golden State will play five games in seven days before coming back to Chase Center on Aug. 6 to play the Las Vegas Aces. 

Here are the biggest takeaways from Friday’s win: 

Offense finds footing without Thornton 

Without Thornton on the floor, the Valkyries had to find other ways to get consistent scoring on the floor.

Golden State’s offense struggled to adjust early in Friday’s game, scoring a season-low 10 first-quarter points.

But after getting settled in, Salaün thrived in her role as the Valkyries’ featured scorer. She scored eight of her 16 points in the second half, which included two 3-pointers. 

Sharpshooting forward Cecilia Zandalasini picked her spots well, scoring 10 points while shooting 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. 

“I felt like even when (Thornton) was here I was trying to take open shots and be dangerous in the offense,” Salaün said. “I think it’s still the same because I have players around me who can score. I think we have a lot of scorers, not just me but everybody.”

Rupert shines in her debut

French center Iliana Rupert made quite the impression in her season debut.

Rupert opened her Valkyries debut picking up two fouls in her first 48 seconds of play. She struggled in the first half as she missed her only shot and turned the ball over twice. 

Rupert found her rhythm in the third quarter. 

She scored her first basket of the game on an and-1 layup in the third quarter. Later in the period, she hit back-to-back 3s to bring the Valkyries within two points of the Wings’ lead. 

Rupert finished with nine points and five rebounds in just under 15 minutes of play. 

“She can shoot the ball and I think that’s our identity,” Salaün said of Rupert. “She can also impact inside the paint and I think we need that stuff.”

All but Martin

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase played every one of her available players except for Kate Martin on Friday. 

The second-year guard was a healthy scratch for the second time this season after playing 15 minutes in the Valkyries last game against the Seattle Storm on July 16. 

Nakase said she did not play Martin for rest reasons, however Martin was not on the Valkyries injury report prior to Friday’s game.

“We have six games in 10 days and we had six games in 12 days before the All-Star break,” Nakase said. “I’m just being mindful and we’ll see going forward because that is not a lot of downtime.”