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The Golden State Valkyries recorded another franchise first Friday night, riding Carla Leite’s team-high 19 points and a second-quarter flurry to an 82-73 WNBA road victory over the Los Angeles Sparks.

Janelle Salaun had 13 of her 18 points in the first half, while Kayla Thornton added 14 and Veronica Burton 12 for Golden State, an expansion team that had played its first two games at home, where it registered its first win Wednesday night against the Washington Mystics.

Dearica Hamby led all scorers with 25 points for the Sparks, who dropped their third straight since opening the season with an 84-67 victory at Golden State in the Valkyries’ inaugural game last Friday night.

After watching a 7-1 lead turn into a 20-9 deficit in the seventh minute of the first quarter, the Valkyries flipped the table again, outscoring the hosts 40-15 for the rest of the half.

The heart of the run bridged the first two periods, with Golden State using an 8-1 spurt to get within 26-24 by first quarter’s end. The Sparks were then held scoreless for almost the first 7 1/2 minutes of the second quarter as the Valkyries took a 42-26 lead. Salaun buried a pair of 3-pointers in the 18-0, period-opening flurry.

Golden State went on to lead by as many as 20 before Los Angeles came alive in the final 8 1/2 minutes, outscoring the visitors 14-2 to rally within 73-68 with 2:32 to play. Kelsey Plum buried a 3-pointer in the run.

But the Valkyries held on at the free-throw line, with Thornton burying three straight after getting fouled on a 3-pointer before Burton and Salaun combined for six more free throws to keep the Sparks at arm’s length.

Leite, who came off the bench, hit seven of her 10 shots and both her 3-point attempts. Salaun bombed in four 3-pointers to account for almost half her point total, while Thornton completed a double-double with a game-high-tying 10 rebounds.

Thornton had four steals and Burton five for the Valkyries, who forced 18 Sparks turnovers.

Plum, who exploded for 37 points when the clubs met last week in San Francisco, was held to 16 this time to go with four steals. Odyssey Sims chipped in with 13 points, while Azura Stevens pulled a team-high 10 rebounds to complement six points.

–Field Level Media