In their last of a quick two-game road trip in the Eastern Conference, the Golden State Valkyries made easy work against the host Chicago Sky Friday night in a 90-59 win behind a second consecutive career-high scoring night from Cecilia Zandalasini.
After Zandalasini scored 20 points on Wednesday, the Italian forward continued her run on Friday, matching her career best with 20 points. It marked the fourth straight double-digit scoring game Zandalasini — the first time she has hit the feat in four WNBA seasons.
Zandalasini was one of six players who hit a 3-point shot for Golden State (18-15), including three triples by Janelle Salaun, who had 15 points and a team-high six rebounds.
With 8:36 remaining in the third quarter, the Sky (8-25) tied the game 44-44 on a Rachel Banham 3-pointer. But that is when the Valkyries increased the defensive intensity.
Despite center Kamilla Cardoso facing limited playing time in the third due to four fouls, Golden State went on a 25-5 run and held Chicago to 2-of-9 shooting from the floor. That defense held in the fourth as the visitors outscored the Sky 48-19 in the final two quarters.
Golden State turned a tie game into a 20-point lead heading into the fourth, an advantage the Valkyries would not relinquish to the struggling Sky.
In the fourth quarter, Golden State added to the lead and stretched it to a game-high 31 points.
With the defeat, Chicago has 12 losses in the last 13 games, stretching back to before the WNBA All-Star break in mid-July. The Valkyries, meanwhile, won their fourth straight and seventh in the past nine games.
In addition, the loss puts Chicago at 1-9 when star forward Angel Reese does not play. The second-year Chicago star missed her seventh game in a row with a back injury.
Banham led the Sky with 15 points and three 3-pointers. The deep-shooting performance made Banham the fourth player in Chicago franchise history to hit 70 field goals from beyond the arc in a season. Cardoso scored 14 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds.
The win for Golden State puts the expansion franchise in the WNBA record books as the winningest first-year team in league history, passing the 1998 Detroit Shock.
–Field Level Media
