Kayla Thornton highlighted a 22-point performance with a rally-stopping 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter and the Golden State Valkyries continued their surprising expansion-season success by holding on for a 76-70 victory over the visiting Seattle Storm on Saturday night in San Francisco.
Thornton completed a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds while Tami Fagbenle chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Valkyries (5-5), who recorded their third straight win to improve to 3-2 in Commissioner’s Cup play.
Skylar Diggins had a team-high 21 points for the Storm (6-5), who saw a three-game winning streak come to an end as they fell to 3-2 in the Commissioner’s Cup with one game remaining.
Coming off a home win over the previously unbeaten Minnesota Lynx, the slow-starting Storm rallied from a 22-point deficit to get within 67-62 on a short jumper by Diggins with still 5:24 to play.
But Thornton countered immediately with her third 3-pointer of the game, allowing the Valkyries to keep the guests at arm’s length the rest of the way.
Thornton, who went 3-for-9, was the only Golden State player to connect on a 3-pointer in the game. Her teammates went a combined 0-for-9.
Carla Leite contributed 14 points to the win, while Veronica Burton had eight points, a game-high nine assists and four steals.
Alysha Clark had 11 points and Ezi Magbegor 10 for Seattle, which was outshot 48.3 percent to 40.3 percent. The Storm outscored the hosts 24-9 from beyond the arc.
Forced to go without three regulars who have left the team to play in the EuroBasket event, the Valkyries held the Storm to 31 points in the first half en route to a 44-31 lead.
The Golden State advantage was mostly the product of a 23-5 run that began after Seattle’s Magbegor dropped in a layup for a 13-9 lead in the game’s seventh minute.
The run consisted of a 12-2 burst to close the first quarter, then an 11-3 flurry to open the second, flipping the score to 32-18 in the Valkyries’ favor with 6:20 left in the half.
Seven Golden State players contributed to the run, led by Leite with six points.
-Field Level Media
