Valkyries’ valiant effort falls short as New York Liberty pull away late

The Valkyries put up a good fight but it wasn t enough After getting blown out by the New York Liberty two nights ago Golden State kept the competition close until the end but couldn t close out the Liberty on the road as the defending champions defeated the Valkyries - in Brooklyn on Thursday night East Bay native Sabrina Ionescu scored points and made of -point shots to lead unbeaten New York to its fifth straight win to begin the season Janelle Sala n led Golden State with points and rebounds Monique Billings returned after missing the last two games with an ankle injury and scored points and seven rebounds in minutes Golden State held New York to shooting from the field and forced turnovers but couldn t stop Liberty star Breanna Stewart as she scored a game-high points Still Golden State held New York to its lowest point total of the season I gave the girls a ton of credit on just how they responded Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase announced It was a -point loss two days ago and with attention to detail they followed the championship plan pretty much to a tee and that was the company we were looking for on Tuesday The Valkyries entered Thursday s competition with their full squad available for the first time this season Cecilia Zandalasini made her season debut after missing all of training camp the preseason and the Valkyries first four games She finished with nine points off the bench While Tiffany Hayes did not play she was available for the first time since sustaining a nose injury against the Washington Mystics last week Golden State entered the fourth quarter down one and went back-and-forth with the Liberty throughout the period The Valkyries got key buckets from Billings and point guard Julie Vanloo throughout the fourth quarter and even took a two-point lead after Sala n hit a with just under three minutes left in the battle Down - with seconds remaining the Valkyries had the ball underneath New York s basket with a chance to take the lead But they weren t able to inbound the ball as a costly five-second violation gave the Liberty the ball back On the ensuing possession New York s Natasha Cloud got past Vanloo on a drive to the paint and scored an uncontested layup to put the Liberty up three with just over seconds left in the encounter The Valkyries got one final chance to tie but Zandalasini s fading three-point try from the left wing fell short as Golden State couldn t pull off the upset New York ended the match on a - run in the final to close out the visiting Valkyries While the Valkyries established positives in their two-game series against the Liberty Sala n announced Thursday s loss was deflating for her I m not going to lie to you it was a big hit to my pride Sala n mentioned To get beat like that is hard It s a hit but it s a good hit We were not on our standard and we need to get better But that s why we evidenced out tonight After starting using a - matchup zone to open Tuesday s challenge the Valkyries switched to a straight man-to-man defense to start Thursday s contest The strategy worked early as Golden State held New York to shooting in the first half and forced turnovers The Valkyries went into halftime tied with the Liberty at as Sala n totaled points through the first two quarters Zandalasini gave the Valkyries a spark off the bench scoring eight points in the second quarter while hitting of her -point attempts The Valkyries offense got off to a better start than they did on Tuesday Golden State got a balanced scoring attack led by Kayla Thornton and Sala n who combined for nine points in the opening quarter Related Articles Rest over rhythm Five takeaways from the Valkyries loss to the Liberty Valkyries overwhelmed by Sabrina Ionescu s Liberty in New York City Valkyries seeking third straight win when they face New York Liberty Sabrina Ionescu on road WNBA star Caitlin Clark out at least two weeks with injury Will she be back in time to play the Valkyries Fever star Caitlin Clark out at least weeks with left quad strain But New York still held a two-point lead after the first quarter as it also got off to a hot start from beyond the arc Ionescu hit her first three s as the Liberty hunted shots from deep The Valkyries end their road three-game road trip - They will return to the Bay Area on Sunday for a challenge against the Minnesota Lynx before hitting the road again next Thursday for a matchup against the Phoenix Mercury I think there s a lot to build off this challenge so I m feeling excited Billings noted