Final score: Golden State 87, Las Vegas 77 (in Overtime)
By the Numbers
- The Valkyries are headed to the WNBA Finals after a Game 3 win over the Aces to sweep the defending champions.
- Kayla Thornton led the Valkyries in scoring with 18 points, shooting 5-12 (42 percent) from the field and 6-7 from the line (86%), adding 9 rebounds.
- Gabby Williams finished with 16 points on 6-16 (38%) shooting and a perfect 4-4 from the line. Williams also added 3 assists and three steals. 8 of Williams’ 16 points came in overtime.
- Kiah Stokes grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds with 11 points for her first career playoff double-double. 8 of Stokes’ 10 rebounds were defensive.
- Tiffany Hayes hit 500 career postseason points tonight, scoring 11 off the bench for Golden State.
- Veronica Burton scored 8 points to go with 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
- The Valkyries posted a 17-0 run in the 3rd quarter, taking a 53-47 lead late in the 3rd.
- Golden State held Las Vegas to 7 points in the 3rd quarter, tied for the Aces’ fewest-ever scored points in any postseason quarter in team history, as well as a franchise low in points allowed in a postseason quarter for the Valkyries.
- Golden State forced 15 turnovers and had 12 steals, led by Gabby Williams’ and Cecilia Zandalasini’s 3 each.
Quotes:
HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:
ON THE STRENGTH IN NUMBERS:
“It is our superpower…We empty the tank. That's a standard that we have. We play as hard as we can for 40 minutes. So with that type of style I think that's why I might have had some injuries last year. Right? Because I was pushing beyond, and we only rotated seven or eight, and so it wasn't sustainable. I really reflected on not having that same situation. Plus, I don't think it's fair that any player gets injured. I had injuries, it sucks. It messes with your mental…And I never want a player of mine to be in those spots. So strength in numbers was key.”
ON THE WIN:
“Obviously I’m really proud. I told them that I was proud of our whole team, all 14, because I saw another fight tonight, and that's what I was really proud of. We talked about leveling up one more as a team, and I think that overtime proved strength in numbers. We really left it all out there on the floor. We really emptied the tank, and so having a successful overtime just showed strength in numbers was key for us tonight.”
ON THE DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE:
“That third quarter, holding them to seven, we just finally kind of let loose. It was almost like we were kind of tight maybe in the first half, or maybe it looked a little bit distracted with the noise. So I said, remember our response is to come closer, to come tighter, to huddle up, grab hands, and communicate. I think in the third, we talked about a couple things at halftime, and you could just tell we knew it wasn't us. We knew we weren't playing our best defense, and so when we showed some clips, we were like, okay, let's just come out, bring up a level, and communicate and stick together, and that's kind of what we did in the second half.”
GOLDEN STATE GUARD GABBY WILLIAMS AND CENTER KIAH STOKES:
ON REACHING THE WNBA FINALS IN YEAR TWO:
Williams: “It feels special because this is a special group…All we need is each other. We just need to believe in each other. We just need to believe in each other, we know we weren’t a team that was talked about, but just the culture and going to work every day, we felt that we had something worth fighting for. That’s how we’re going into the finals, with that same mentality [of] staying together and staying unselfish.”
Stokes: “I think it just goes to show that with a new team, [you can be successful] with a clear vision of what you want and the identity that you want. Shoutout to the Valkyries organization, because they had this vision from the start, and to be able to see it come to fruition already in year two is pretty amazing and pretty special. We have a great group, it’s really special, and we’re looking forward to the finals.”
Up Next: The Valkyries host the Atlanta Dream in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday, October 17 at 12:30PM PT at Chase Center in San Francisco.
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