Valkyries Swarm Storm, Win 76-70

Seattle was stunned by the Golden State expansion team.

(San Francisco, California) - After the team’s most impressive victory of the season on Wednesday against the Minnesota Lynx, the Storm came out lethargic and a step slow against the upstart Golden State Valkyries expansion team. The Valkyries had an excellent defensive strategy to clog the paint and force Seattle to hit outside shots. But more surprising was their ability to get to the rim and score against the Storm’s defense. Seattle played poorly on both ends of the court, and because of that, they trailed by six points after the first quarter, by 13 points at halftime, and by as many as 22 points in the 2nd half. Despite a strong comeback in the 4th quarter when Seattle outscored Golden State 20-12, the rally fell short. The Valkyries defeated the Storm 76-70.

Seattle needed to beat both Golden State and Los Angeles to represent the Western Conference in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship game. The Minnesota Lynx retake the lead in the Commissioner’s Cup standings with their dominant 101-78 win over the LA Sparks.

Skylar Diggins led the Storm with 21 points. However, as I recently wrote about, there have been trends in Seattle’s losses. Diggins only had three assists against the Valkyries. When the Storm lose, Skylar is averaging less than four assists per game. In their wins, it’s double that.

Only two other players scored in double figures. Alysha Clark had her best game of the season, scoring 11 points off the bench on 4-6 FG shooting, including 3-5 FG from beyond the arc. Clark was key to Seattle’s rally in the 4th quarter. Ezi Magbegor finished with 10 points, six rebounds, and a couple of emphatic blocks.

Nneka Ogwumike, Erica Wheeler, and Gabby Williams all struggled, and it’s a big reason why Seattle lost the game. They combined to make just 8-25 FG. As a team, the Storm shot 40% (25-62 FG) and under 31% (8-26 FG) from the three-point line.

Golden State Valkyries

The Valkyries were a step ahead from the very beginning. They executed on both ends of the court, unlike their very first game of the season as an expansion team. Their defense swarmed Seattle. They dominated the rebounding battle 33-20. They outscored the Storm 46-26 with points in the paint. They were a +5 in Free Throw attempts and made 17-19 FT compared to 12-14 for Seattle.

Kayla Thornton led the Valkyries with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Temi Fágbénlé added 16 points and seven rebounds. Rookie Carla Leite consistently beat her defender to the rim and scored 14 points. Veronica Burton nearly had a double-double with eight points and nine assists. She also had four steals.

Game Breakdown

Gabby Williams scored on a pull-up jumper for the game’s first basket. After the Valkyries airballed their shot, Seattle got out in transition as Williams found Nneka Ogwumike down low for an easy basket. Kayla Thornton was fouled and split a pair of free throws. Temi Fágbénlé got inside the paint for the layup. Carla Leite got past Erica Wheeler. Stephanie Talbot collected an offensive rebound and finished with a layup to put the Valkries ahead 7-6. Skylar Diggins sank a triple. Wheeler was able to get past the defense for two. Fágbénlé rolled to the rim again. The Valkyries went on a 6-0 run to take a two-point lead, forcing Coach Noelle Quinn to call a timeout. Through the first eight minutes, Seattle looked a bit sluggish, especially when it came to rebounding. It was a sign of things to come.

Dominique Malonga was fouled and made both free throws. Wheeler committed a bad foul on Kate Martin with the shot clock winding down. Martin made both free throws. The Valkyries ended the first period on a 14-4 run and led 21-15.

Golden State scored the first four points of the 2nd quarter to take a 10-point lead at 25-15. After a Lexie Brown three-pointer, it got worse from there for Seattle. The Storm couldn’t crack the Valkyries' zone defense. Meanwhile, Seattle’s defense was noticeably absent, allowing several easy drives to the rim. Monique Billings hit a jumper. Martin was fouled on a three-pointer and made all three of her attempts. Leite scored again on a drive. A 7-0 run pushed their lead to 14.

Diggins hit a dribble pull-up jumper. Temi Fágbénlé made her jump shot on the other end. Lexie Brown was fouled on a three-point attempt and made two of three. Skylar then scored on back-to-back possessions, including a three-ball to cut the Storm’s deficit down to seven with their own 7-0 run. This forced Valkyries’ Head Coach Natalie Nakase to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Valkyries went on an 8-0 run with all the points coming from Kayla Thornton. Gabby Williams was able to draw a foul and made both free throws. Seattle was outscored 23-16 in the second quarter and trailed 44-31 at halftime. Golden State outshot the Storm 53% (16-30 FG) to 38% (11-29 FG). And they were out-rebounded 19-8. Kayla Thornton had as many rebounds in the first half (8) as the Storm did as a team.

Veronica Burton got to the rim with a reverse layup. Ezi Magbegor raced down the court for two. Burton then made a great pass past the defense as Thornton finished at the rim. Carla Leite hit a floater in the lane. Skylar countered with a three-pointer. Golden State countered with an 8-0 run. Malonga found Ezi down low for two. On the defensive end, Dom got a big block on Fágbénlé.

Ezi scored on a nice roll to the rim and had a monster block against Thornton. Nneka was fouled and made both free throws. Alysha Clark knocked down a triple to cut the deficit down to 13 at 62-49. Burton got to the rim again for two. Diggins was fouled, but split the free throws.

Alysha Clark scored five quick points to begin the 4th quarter, cutting the Storm’s deficit down to nine. Carla Leite was fouled on her jump shot and made both free throws. Monique Billings then split two free throws on the next play. Clark hit another triple. Seattle got another stop, and Wheeler found Gabby in transition for the layup to make it 67-60, Golden State. The Valkyries called a timeout as the Storm started the 4th quarter on a 10-3 run.

Out of the timeout, the Storm got a steal and a basket from Skylar. Thornton knocked down a corner three to go back up eight. Wheeler missed a shot after a nice move to get open, then fouled Burton on the other end. That put the Valkyries back up 10.

Gabby Williams hit a three-pointer. Wheeler scored after Ezi got an offensive rebound. Seattle appeared to have forced a 24-second shot clock violation, but it was reviewed, and the refs said the airball grazed the rim, which meant the putback layup counted. That put the Storm down seven. Diggins was able to get an AND1 on a strong drive to the rim.

Trailing by four with under a minute to play, the Storm got the defensive stop they needed. Unfortunately, Alysha Clark was called for an offensive foul during Seattle’s next possession. Seattle was forced to foul, and Thornton made both free throws. Erica Wheeler and Skylar Diggins both attempted three-pointers in the final seconds, but neither was able to convert. The final buzzer sounded, and Golden State pulled off the upset, defeating the Storm 76-70.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (6-5) will travel to Los Angeles to face the LA Sparks (4-8) on Tuesday, June 17th at 7:00 PM. It’s Seattle’s final Commissioner’s Cup game. While Seattle hasn’t been officially eliminated, I don’t see a realistic scenario for them to represent the Western Conference. It gets pretty confusing. They would need Minnesota to lose to Las Vegas on Tuesday. Seattle has to beat LA as well. I believe they would also need Phoenix to beat the Aces on Sunday, since Seattle owns the tiebreaker against both Minnesota and Phoenix. I believe that’s the only three-way tie Seattle wins. If the Storm get into a three-way tie with Minnesota and the Golden State Valkyries (who can finish 4-2 as well with a win over Dallas), then it goes to point differential. The Lynx are currently a +63 in point differential while the Storm are +17.

Part 2

Part 2 will include additional thoughts, quotes, and discussion from Saturday’s game against the Golden State Valkyries. It’ll be sent exclusively to paid subscribers tomorrow morning.

Notes:
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