Valkyries’ valiant effort falls short as New York Liberty pull away late

The Valkyries put up a good fight, but it wasn’t enough. 

After getting blown out by the New York Liberty two nights ago, Golden State kept the game close until the end but couldn’t close out the Liberty on the road as the defending champions defeated the Valkyries 82-77 on Thursday night. 

East Bay native Sabrina Ionescu scored 24 points and made 6 of 15 3-point shots in Brooklyn to lead unbeaten New York to its fifth straight win to begin the season.

Janelle Salaün led Golden State with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Monique Billings returned after missing the last two games with an ankle injury and scored 10 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes. 

Golden State held New York to 37.7% shooting from the field and forced 13 turnovers, but couldn’t stop Liberty star Breanna Stewart as she scored a game-high 27 points. Still, Golden State held New York to its lowest point total of the season. 

“I gave the girls a ton of credit on just how they responded,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “It was a 30-point loss two days ago, and with attention to detail, they followed the game plan pretty much to a tee, and that was the team we were looking for on Tuesday.”

The Valkyries entered Thursday’s game with their full team available for the first time this season. 

Cecilia Zandalasini made her season debut after missing all of training camp, the preseason and the Valkyries’ first four games. She finished with nine points off the bench. While Tiffany Hayes did not play, she was available for the first time since sustaining a nose injury against the Washington Mystics last week. 

Golden State entered the fourth quarter down one and went back-and-forth with the Liberty throughout the period. The Valkyries got key buckets from Billings and point guard Julie Vanloo throughout the fourth quarter, and even took a two-point lead after Salaün hit a 3 with just under three minutes left in the game. 

Down 78-77 with 42.6 seconds remaining, the Valkyries had the ball underneath New York’s basket with a chance to take the lead. But they weren’t able to inbound the ball as a costly five-second violation gave the Liberty the ball back. 

On the ensuing possession, New York’s Natasha Cloud got past Vanloo on a drive to the paint and scored an uncontested layup to put the Liberty up three with just over 24 seconds remaining.

The Valkyries got one final chance to tie, but Zandalasini’s fading three-point try from the left wing fell short as Golden State couldn’t pull off the upset. 

New York ended the game on a 9-2 run in the final 2:24 to close out the visiting Valkyries. 

While the Valkyries showed positives in their two-game series against the Liberty, Salaün said Tuesday’s loss was deflating for her.

“I’m not going to lie to you, it was a big hit to my pride,” Salaün said. “To get beat like that is hard. It’s a hit, but it’s a good hit. We were not on our standard and we need to get better. But that’s why we showed out tonight.”

After starting using a 2-3 matchup zone to open Tuesday’s game, the Valkyries switched to a straight man-to-man defense to start Thursday’s contest. The strategy worked early as Golden State held New York to 35.7% shooting in the first half and forced 10 turnovers. The Valkyries went into halftime tied with the Liberty at 37 as Salaün totaled 10 points through the first two quarters. 

Zandalasini gave the Valkyries a spark off the bench, scoring eight points in the second quarter while hitting 2 of her 4 3-point attempts. 

The Valkyries’ offense got off to a better start than they did on Tuesday. Golden State got a balanced scoring attack led by Kayla Thornton and Salaün, who combined for nine points in the opening quarter. 

But New York still held a two-point lead after the first quarter as it also got off to a hot start from beyond the arc. Ionescu hit her first three 3s as the Liberty hunted shots from deep. 

The Valkyries end their road three-game road trip 1-2. They will return to the Bay Area on Sunday for a game against the Minnesota Lynx before hitting the road again next Thursday for a matchup against the Phoenix Mercury.

“I think there’s a lot to build off this game, so I’m feeling excited,” Billings said.