Gabby Williams poured in a game-high 25 points, three reserves scored in double figures and the Golden State Valkyries used an early 19-0 spurt to pull away from the Dallas Wings en route to a 91-80 victory in each team’s Commissioner’s Cup finale Wednesday night in San Francisco.
In a game featuring six University of Connecticut alums — all NCAA champions — Kaitlyn Chen upstaged former Huskies teammates Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd with 15 points in helping the Valkyries (10-5, 5-2) win a fourth straight game.
Arike Ogunbowale had a team-high 21 points for the Wings (9-6, 4-3), who never caught up after being held to seven points in the second quarter.
Riding 10 early points from Jessica Shepard, the visitors ran out to a 23-11 advantage in the game’s first minutes.
Dallas led 26-17 at quarter’s end and then 30-21 in the second minute of the second period after an Ogunbowale 3-pointer.
But then the Valkyries flipped the switch at both ends of the floor, using eight points from Williams, another of the former UConn stars, and seven from reserve Chen along with a suffocating defense to run off 19 consecutive points to go up 40-30.
Golden State went into the intermission with a 44-33 lead, setting a franchise record for a quarter by limiting Dallas to seven second-period points.
The Wings got within 64-62 by the end of the third period and had a chance to go up when Bueckers missed a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter. Chen then countered with an interior hoop, Williams dropped in a layup and Veronica Burton knocked down a 3-pointer, helping the Valkyries rebuild a comfortable lead they retained until the end.
Janelle Salaun chipped in with 12 points, Burton 11 and Tiffany Hayes 10 for the Valkyries, who outscored the Wings 36-27 from beyond the arc. Burton also found time for eight rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Kayla Thornton grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to complement eight points.
Shepard recorded a double-double for Dallas with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Bueckers was held to 15 points to go with a game-high eight assists. Fudd scored 10 points to complement five steals.
The Golden State reserves outscored their Dallas counterparts 43-17.
–Field Level Media
