Valkyries Win Third Straight Against New York, 76-67

By: Ashmere Prasad

The Valkyries held the Liberty to their second-lowest score this season and won their third game in five days. After a few stalled plays in the second quarter, Golden State went on an 11-0 run to close the half, and the Liberty were unable to respond.

Head coach Natalie Nakase has emphasized the importance of communication and defensive effort since the beginning of the season.

“Holding [New York] to 15 in the first and 14 in the second showed that you still always want to consistently fight each quarter. I think with attention to detail, they did a great job punching with that effort,” Nakase said. “We talked about emptying the tank, so I think we did a great job with that, and then I think the communication was on par tonight in terms of covering for each other. Sometimes the coverage might have slipped, but we covered for each other.”

Bay Area native Sabrina Ionescu was scoreless in the first half – her fourth scoreless half this season. She finished with nine points. Breanna Stewart was held to four points in the first half and closed out 4-of-11 from the field, 15 points, and four rebounds.

“The entire night, the paint was pretty protected; it was pretty packed. Even when we did have passes to open shooters, you’re not open for long,” Stewart said post-game. “That’s why they’re one of the top defenses in the league. They have that chemistry and that belief that they can do it and it shows on the court.”

June has been a long stretch for Golden State – they were 8-12 and faced top offenses in the league. Each time, they held their opponents or individual players to new season lows.

“We’re taking steps forward in terms of consistency. That was our biggest message from every game from Atlanta to Atlanta, to New York, was can we consistently execute on both ends for four quarters? And I think you know that challenge has been met. You can see that. You can kind of feel it too, and I think every time our communication actually gets better and better each quarter. So, moving in the right direction for us and continuing to just focus on us,” Nakase said.

The Valkyries face the Atlanta Dream on July 4th for the third time in two weeks.