Gabby Williams buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 20.4 seconds remaining, Veronica Burton prevented Nneka Ogwumike of making the final shot of her award-winning career and the visiting Golden State Valkyries rallied from 10 down in the final 2:10 to defeat the Los Angeles Sparks 76-75 in their regular-season finale Thursday night.
The win allowed the Valkyries (32-12) to claim second place in the final WNBA standings and earn the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, where they will face the seventh-seeded Dallas Wings in a best-of-three that tips off Sunday in San Francisco.
Playing the final game of her 15-year career, Ogwumike had 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, but couldn’t convert a point-blank attempt after grabbing the rebound of a Rae Burrell miss with 10.8 seconds left. Burton came in from behind to defend the shot.
The Valkyries were up 73-72 at the time, having scored 11 straight points — the last three on the 24-footer by Williams. She had eight of the 11 points in the run.
Golden State clinched the win when Kayla Thornton, sent to the free-throw line when Sparks coach Lynne Roberts was nailed with a technical foul for complaining about the non-call on Burton’s defensive play, made a free throw with 10.8 seconds left, then added another pair after getting fouled a second later.
Fouled on the subsequent inbounds pass, Ogwumike then missed a free throw, and it proved costly when teammate Burrell drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that could only erase three from the Sparks’ four-point deficit.
Kaitlyn Chen finished with a game-high 18 points, Burton had 17 points and Williams 14 for the Valkyries, who had made only one 3-pointer before draining four in the fourth period, during which they scored 30 of their 76 points.
Burton also collected five assists, while Kiah Stokes secured a team-high 12 rebounds.
For Ogwumike, a former MVP who has announced her retirement after 15 seasons in the WNBA, the double-double was the 134th of her career. She also found time for five assists, tying Burton and teammate Erica Wheeler for game-high honors.
Dearica Hamby and Burrell chipped in with 15 points apiece for the Sparks (16-28), who led by as many as 16 points.
–Field Level Media
