Gabby Williams scored a game-high 23 points Wednesday night and the Golden State Valkyries held the high-scoring Atlanta Dream to 40 points through three quarters en route to a 77-66 win at San Francisco.
Kayla Thornton added 17 for Golden State (11-7), which bounced back from a 92-73 defeat Sunday in Las Vegas with excellent defense. Atlanta (12-5) entered the game averaging 90.4 points per game but made only 25 of 64 shots (39.1%) from the field, including a measly 4 of 18 (22.2%) from 3-point range.
Rookie Madina Okot scored 16 points to lead the Dream, who logged a season-low point total. Leading scorers Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard, who entered the game averaging 19.5 and 19.1 ppg, respectively, combined to make just 8 of 21 shots. Howard scored 12 points, and Gray wound up with eight.
The Valkyries led for the final 34:03, pushing the margin as high as 26 points late in the third quarter.
Golden State took the lead for good at the 4:03 mark of the first quarter when Williams nailed a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run. The advantage reached seven on Janelle Salaun’s 3-point shot before the hosts settled for a 22-18 edge going to the second quarter.
Golden State established a sizable working margin in the second, when it limited Atlanta to nine points and built a 19-point cushion before taking a 44-27 lead to intermission.
Laeticia Amihere sank a 3-pointer at the 2:41 mark of the third quarter for a 61-35 advantage. While the Valkyries struggled a bit for the game’s remainder, the lead never dipped below 10.
Golden State canned 15 of 32 (46.9%) from beyond the 3-point arc, just shy of its season-best long-distance mark of 48% (12 of 25) in a June 17 win over the Dallas Wings.
–Field Level Media
