Iliana Rupert scored a career-high 21 points and paced Golden State’s torrid 12-of-19 3-point shooting as the homestanding Valkyries picked up a crucial 75-63 win over the Indiana Fever on Sunday night in San Francisco.
Golden State (21-18) led nearly wire-to-wire thanks to its sensational long-range shooting, setting the tone early in the first quarter with triples on four straight scoring possessions.
That burst gave the Valkyries a nine-point lead they maintained much of the night on the way to a 2-0 start to their critical, five-game homestand, and allowed Golden State to complete a three-game regular-season sweep of Indiana (21-19).
With the win, the first-year franchise Golden State moved a half-game ahead of the Fever in the WNBA playoff race and a percentage point ahead of the Seattle for sixth, with the top eight advancing.
Rupert shot 5 of 8 from beyond the arc, with her fifth made attempt from outside delivering a dagger. Teammate Veronica Burton — who, on the prior possession, beat her defender with a crossover to score on a finger roll — again attacked the paint off the dribble.
As Indiana defenders closed on Burton, she fired a pass to an open Rupert at the top of the key. Rupert sank the 3-pointer to give the Valkyries a 13-point lead and effectively put the game away.
Burton dished 13 assists to go with her eight points. Her backcourt mate, reserve Carla Leite, provided pivotal offense repeatedly down the stretch.
Leite scored off of a crossover in a drive to the basket similar to Burton’s, then later drew contact on a step-back jumper just inside the 3-point arc to cap her seven-point performance.
Kate Martin added another 10 points off the bench, hitting all three of her 3-point attempts. Janelle Salaun knocked down another three 3-pointers on five attempts in finishing with 10 points.
Aerial Powers led Indiana with 17 points off the bench. Kelsey Mitchell scored 14 points but shot just 2 of 10 from 3-point range, and the Fever went 6 of 30 from deep as a team (20 percent). Natasha Howard added 13 points in the loss.
–Field Level Media
