NFL
By: Ashmere Prasad
June 30 – San Francisco
From tip-off to the final buzzer, the Valkyries dominated Sunday night’s 84–57 win over the Storm, holding Seattle to a season-low 27% shooting and just 18 points in the paint.
Golden State recorded its 10th straight sold-out game on Sunday night, drawing a star-studded crowd.
Dawn Staley was sitting courtside with her new book in hand, while Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe celebrated Rapinoe’s birthday from their private suite. Rapinoe also hit the GSV drum to fire up the crowd. Oh, and four-time NBA Champion Stephen Curry made his first appearance of the season.
The Storm are coming off a five-game win streak; their last loss was against Golden State on June 14. Skylar Diggins was Seattle’s lead scorer with 18 points, five rebounds, and six assists, ending the game at -25.
“Thought they did everything better than us tonight, credit them. Their effort was better, they ran the floor harder than we did…We shoot 27% from the field, 21% from the three, and we don’t have one 20-point quarter. I’ll give them credit on what they did right. It’s embarrassing. It’s bullsh*t effort on our part. As professionals, you need to come out here and play with a level about yourself every night, or this is what’s gonna happen.”
Third Quarter Takeover
The turning point came in the third. Golden State outscored the Storm 31-17 in the third quarter, but they lost Kayla Thornton at the start. Less than 40 seconds into the second half, Thornton headed to the locker room, appearing to hold her neck, and did not return to the game. The team said she was undergoing further evaluation without providing details of the injury.
The team’s leading scorer was scoreless from the arc 0-5, tallying five rebounds and two points before she left in the third quarter.
Laeticia Amihere stepped up in the fourth quarter and had a huge block on Dominique Molonga. Nakase emphasized, ‘That should be on SportsCenter.’” Amihere controlled the tempo under the basket and was a pest to her opponents. She wrapped up the night with 15 points, eight rebounds, and her one epic block.
The team was fairly humble in their postgame press conferences, saying they stuck to the game plan and stuck together as a unit. But these victories are more than that. Nakase shared what makes this team so special and united.
“Our players followed that game plan to a T…Everyone we’ve been able to pull in with our players in Eurobasket, they have surpassed my expectations…They’re really coming into their own. I think we are naturally from 1-12, defenders. Our killer mentality as an identity is really showing out. As long as we have that effort…we are bringing that energy and bringing that fight. We want to be that number one defense.”
After last night’s win, Golden State is now second in the WNBA with a defensive rating of 96.8.
Golden State finally gets a few days of rest before it heads to Minnesota next Saturday. In their last matchup, the Lynx went on a 14-2 run, and the Valkyries were unable to catch up. With their confidence running high, the Valkyries have a chance to prove their dominance travels just as well as it plays at home.
