The Valkyries put up a good fight, but it wasn’t enough.
After getting blown out by the New York Liberty on Tuesday, Golden State kept the game close until the end but couldn’t close out the Liberty on the road as the defending champions defeated the Valkyries 82-77.
Bay Area native Sabrina Ionescu scored 24 points and made 6 of 15 3-point shots to lead New York to a win.
Janelle Salaün led Golden State with 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Monique Billings returned after missing the last two games with an ankle injury and totaled 10 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.
Golden State held New York to 37.7% shooting from the field and forced 13 turnovers, but couldn’t stop Liberty star Breanna Stewart as she scored a game-high 27 points.
The Valkyries entered Friday’s game with their full team 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 Salaün hit a 3 with just under three minutes left in the game.
Down 78-77 with 42.6 seconds remaining, the Valkyries had the ball underneath New York’s basket with a chance to take the lead. But a costly five-second violation gave the Liberty the ball back.
On the ensuing possession, 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 24 seconds left in the game.
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 game on a 9-2 run in the final 2:24 to close out the visiting Valkyries.
After starting using a 2-3 matchup zone to open Tuesday’s game, 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 35.7% shooting in the first half and forced 10 turnovers. The Valkyries went into halftime tied with the Liberty at 37 as Janelle Salaün totaled 10 points through the first two quarters.
Zandalasini gave the Valkyries a spark off the bench, scoring eight points in the second quarter while hitting 2 of her 4 3-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 Janelle Salaün who combined for nine points in the first quarter.
But New York held a two-point lead after the first quarter as the home team got off to a hot start from beyond the arc. Ionescu hit her first three 3s as the Liberty hunted shots from deep.
The Valkyries end their road three-game road trip 1-2. They will return to the Bay Area on Sunday for a game against the Minnesota Lynx before hitting the road again next Thursday for a matchup against the Phoenix Mercury.