Kayla Thornton buried four of Golden State’s 12 first-half 3-pointers in a 56-point explosion that opened a 20-point lead and propelled the Valkyries to a 95-77 victory over the Portland Fire in the teams’ Commissioner’s Cup opener on Tuesday night in San Francisco.
Thornton finished with five 3-pointers in 10 tries and a game-high 19 points as the Valkyries (6-3) bettered their franchise record with 18 hoops from beyond the arc to complete a 3-1 homestand.
Megan Gustafson had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Fire (6-5), who were coming off a 16-point home win over the Indiana Fever on Saturday night.
Riding Gustafson’s early scoring, the Fire led by four in the first period and were within 33-30 in the fourth minute of the second quarter before Golden State took command.
The Valkyries ran off 23 of the half’s final 29 points, getting 3-pointers from five different players. Golden State finished the half 12 of 23 from deep.
Golden State’s spurt included a rare seven-point play on which Cecilia Zandalasini hit a 3-pointer while absorbing a flagrant foul from the Fire’s Bridget Carleton.
Zandalasini completed a personal four-point play with a free throw, after which Golden State got possession of the ball and converted it into a Kiah Stokes 3-pointer.
Still down 18 after three quarters, the Fire went on an 11-1 run to open the fourth period and get within 75-67 with 5:43 to play.
But the Valkyries got their long-range game going again, with Veronica Burton, Thornton and Janelle Salaun bombing in 3-pointers, helping the hosts re-establish an 18-point cushion before coasting home.
Salaun backed Thornton with 18 points off the bench for the Valkyries, while Burton had 10 points to complement a game-high nine assists. Thornton also found time to be Golden State’s leading rebounder with eight.
The Valkyries finished 18 of 40 from beyond the arc.
Former Valkyries guard Carla Leite had a team-high seven assists to go with 10 points for the Fire, while Emily Engstler chipped in with 12 points and Carleton 11. Engstler shared game-high rebound honors with Thornton and Gustafson with eight.
–Field Level Media
