Valkyries close homestand with blowout win over Seattle Storm

SAN FRANCISCO The Valkyries were playing in their third meeting in five days but you wouldn t know it by the way they handled the Seattle Storm Golden State finished its five-game home stand with a blowout - win over the Storm behind stingy defense and timely shot making in front of a crowd of the band s th consecutive Tiffany Hayes had a game-high points and dished out four assists in the win Veronica Burton had points The Valkyries held the high-powered Storm offense to just shooting from the field Skylar Diggins led Seattle with points and totaled six assists Golden State has won both matchups against Seattle this year Valkyries leading scorer Kayla Thornton left the match with what looked like a head injury early in the third quarter and did not return Much like the last time these two teams played two weeks ago the Valkyries got off to a strong start Golden State shot from the field in the first quarter to take a - lead Seattle made headway in the second period cutting the lead to as little as five but the Valkyries finished the half strong thanks to points from Hayes Golden State held Seattle to -of- shooting from the field and -of- from the -point line At halftime the Valkyries led - Golden State blew the match open in the third quarter despite Thornton leaving the tournament seconds into the second half Hayes and Burton led the Valkyries offense with Thornton in the locker room as they took advantage of a much slower Storm backcourt The duo combined for points in the period as the Valkyries outscored Seattle - to take a -point lead into the fourth quarter Golden State opened the fourth quarter with a - run and with a raucous Chase Center crowd by their side closed the book on Seattle early Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase cleared her bench with left and a -point lead The Valkyries will play the Lynx in their next tournament on Saturday in Minnesota Golden State will have just two home games in July Leite update Valkyries rookie Carla Leite missed her fourth straight challenge with a back injury The French point guard was a surprising healthy scratch in the Valkyries blowout win over the Connecticut Sun last Sunday and hasn t played since Golden State s win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on June We re taking it day-to-day She recounted me she feels a lot better Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase stated When players are usually out I want to hear about their progression and what they do to take care of their bodies She described me she s right on track Kaitlyn Chen has taken over backup point guard duties in Leite s absence Chen is averaging five points across minutes per battle F gb nl makes return Temi F gb nl is the first EuroBasket departure to make her return back to the Valkyries The -foot- center played minutes scored four points and grabbed four rebounds She started games for the Valkyries before she left for EuroBasket F gb nl averaged points and rebounds across three games for Great Britain F gb nl arrived back in the Bay Area on Wednesday and noted she has been dealing with jetlag since her return The difference is like nine hours so it ll be a scant days but I feel good F gb nl noted Vanloo wins EuroBasket title Valkyries point guard Julie Vanloo will be returning to the Valkyries with a championship ring The second-year point guard helped Belgium win its second consecutive EuroBasket championship Sunday in a - win over Spain Belgium recovered from a -point second half deficit and Vanloo scored four points off the bench Vanloo was named to the all-tournament second group Related Articles Hear them roar Valkyries are WNBA s hottest ticket and Bay Area fan base can t get enough Unsung heroes How Kate Martin Kaitlyn Chen ignited Valkyries win over Sky Angel Reese s MeBounds phenomenon takes center stage in Valkyries win Valkyries find way to win late against Sky behind career nights from Kayla Thornton Kaitlyn Chen It just feels good to knock down shots Valkyries Kate Martin finds her moment in loss to Liberty Former Valkyries center Kyara Linskens totaled points and six rebounds Vanloo wasn t the only Valkyries performer to earn tournament recognition Just Jocyt the Valkyries first-round pick who is slated to join the company next season was named the EuroBasket Rising Star Cecilia Zandalasini also received first-team recognition