Facing the defending WNBA champion Liberty in New York, the lights were too bright for the expansion Valkyries on Tuesday night.
Things went from bad, to worse, to abysmal during a first half that saw the visitors make just 9 of 35 first-half shots.
Despite a spirited third quarter push that cut the deficit from 22 to 11, the Valkyries fell 95-67 at Barclays Center to the undefeated Liberty (4-0).
Bay Area native Sabrina Ionescu showed no mercy to her hometown team.
The Walnut Creek native scored eight, had six assists and grabbed five rebounds, flashing the well-rounded skillset that made her a preps superstar at Miramonte high school. She keyed a quick-strike attack that outscored the Valkyries 21-12 on the fast break and 40-16 in the paint.
In a homecoming game for former Liberty player Kayla Thornton, who received her championship ring before tipoff, the wing scored 13 points. Veronica Burton also scored 13 for Golden State. Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 24 points, and Marine Johannes scored 18 and made six 3-pointers.
Golden State (2-2) missed the firepower of veteran guard Tiffany Hayes, who was out with a nose injury, one she sustained in the first half of the Valkyries’ victory over the Mystics last week.
Despite missing their best player, the Valkyries entered Tuesday’s matchup with some momentum, having won games against Washington and Los Angeles.
That momentum was crushed immediately.
The Valkyries shot 2 of 18, while their adversaries piled up baskets en route to a daunting 27-10 advantage after one quarter.
Liberty superstar Stewart was unstoppable early on, scoring the team’s first nine points as Valkyries wing Janelle Salaün struggled to keep up.
Whether they ran a 2-3 zone or an aggressive man-to-man, nothing slowed down the Stewart or sharpshooter Marine Johannes, who made three consecutive 3-pointers in the second quarter despite being tightly guarded.
The Valkyrie defense did stiffen to end the second half, holding the Liberty scoreless for the final three minutes. Unfortunately for Golden State, New York already led by 21 and the Valkyries could only muster one basket of their own as they went into halftime down 48-29.
Golden State’s third quarter push was powered by the team’s ability to draw fouls, which put former MVP Jonquel Jones on the bench with four infractions midway through the frame.
When Carla Leite sliced to the rim for a lefthanded layup with 2:08 left in the third, Golden State trailed by just 11.
However, New York responded with a quick flurry to push the lead back to 16 to end the quarter, and the Liberty were not seriously threatened in the fourth as they buried the Valkyries.
The Valkyries will not be leaving New York anytime soon. They’ll play a rematch on Thursday afternoon at 3:30 PT.