The Valkyries survived.
Playing their third road game in five days, the expansion team nearly fumbled a 17-point, first-half lead but got enough stops down the stretch to escape with a 68-67 win over the Washington Mystics on Thursday.
The Valkyries were without center Monique Billings (ankle) and sharpshooting forward Cecilia Zandalasini (foot), but managed to pull out the win behind a balanced scoring attack as four different players scored in double figures.
Golden State was outscored 33-22 in the second half and managed to score just six points in the fourth quarter.
Nonetheless, coach Natalie Nakase said she was proud of how her team finished the game.
“I didn’t even look at the six points,” Nakase said. “I thought down the stretch, they knew exactly what to do. I thought that was really good execution on the defensive end because sometimes, you can win off of defensive execution. We did that this game and we did it versus Atlanta.”
The victory bumped the Valkyries back into the eighth and final playoff spot with 18 games left in the regular season. Only 3.5 games separate the sixth-place Indiana Fever and the Los Angeles Sparks, who are 10th.
Golden State will have two more games against the Mystics this season.
Kate Martin came off the bench and led the Valkyries with 14 points. Iliana Rupert had 11 points and Veronica Burton scored 10.
Rookie sensation Sonia Citron led the Mystics with 16 points. Kiki Iriafen had 10 points and six rebounds.
Despite leading by double digits for most of the first half, The Mystics roared back as they cut the Valkyries’ lead to seven going into the final 10 minutes behind a 10-point third quarter from Citron.
Washington took its first lead of the game when Emily Engstler hit a left corner 3 at the 7:19 mark of the fourth quarter.
Center Temi Fágbénlé hit a pull up jumper with just over five minutes left to give the Valkyries a one-point lead. The British veteran’s basket would end up being Golden State’s lone made field goal until Janelle Salaün put in a driving layup with a minute left in the game.
Salaün made a costly mistake on the Valkyries’ final possession, turning the ball over when the Mystics needed to foul with three seconds remaining. But it didn’t matter as Brittney Sykes missed the game-winning floater at the buzzer.
“We’re exhausted,” Nakase said. “Luckily we come out with so much juice early at the beginning. Yeah, I wish we could score 30 in each each quarter, but obviously they’re going to ramp up their defense. So sometimes in a quarter, if we can start off with healthy, fresh legs, then that’s fine.”
Golden State took control of the game in the second quarter thanks to timely shot making and stingy defense.
A reload 3-pointer from Kate Martin built the Valkyries advantage to 16, just three minutes into the second quarter and forced Mystics coach Sydney Johnson to call a timeout to stop the bleeding.
The road team led by as much as 17, but a 7-0 run from Washington to end the second quarter cut the deficit to 12 going into halftime.
Rupert, Burton and Martin combined for 30 points in the first half.
The Valkyries got off to a hot start, hitting 5-of-8 of their shots from 3-point range in the first quarter. Rupert hit three 3s to help Golden State build a 10-point lead going into the second period.
The expansion team’s hot shooting continued as the Valkyries shot 11-of-26 from 3 and had 21 assists on 22 made field goals.
The Valkyries won’t have much time for rest as they will play the Chicago Sky tomorrow. Golden State has not played a back-to-back game this season.
“We’re all tired,” Nakase said. “That’s why we’re just gonna try to get to Chicago as fast as we can. We’re gonna flip the page and then talk about Chicago on the plane.”
Tiffany Hayes update
Starting shooting guard Tiffany Hayes left the game in the third quarter and didn’t return. Nakase didn’t say if Hayes was dealing with injury, but said fatigue played a factor in not brining her back into the game.
Hayes finished had 0 points and four assists in 20 minutes.
Nakase compliments Stanford alum’s growth
Iriafen has had quite the rookie year.
Iriafen was one of three first-year players to make an All-Star team and is a near lock to receive all-rookie honors after the season. She came into Thursday’s game averaging 11.9 points and 8.5 rebounds on 46% shooting while leading the 2025 rookie class in double-doubles (8).
Nakase has been impressed by the young forward’s rapid growth.
“Kiki obviously has evolved, changed and grown even more into a role and with more confidence,” Nakase said before Thursday’s game. “She’s athletic. I know she can dunk. So we got to make sure we keep her off the boards because she’s just plays with a certain type of hunger. Whether she’s not making shots or she’s not getting shots, she’s rebounding like her life depends on it.”
Originally Published: