The Golden State Valkyries earned the first postseason victory in franchise history Sunday night, defeating the Dallas Wings 104-80 in Game 1 of their first-round series at Chase Center. The 104 points are the most the Valkyries have scored in a game in team history, and the win gives Golden State a 1-0 lead in the series.
Cecilia Zandalasini led the Valkyries with a career postseason-high 22 points in just 15:52 of action, shooting 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the field and 4-of-5 (80%) from three. She became the first player in WNBA postseason history to score 20 or more points in under 17 minutes. Tiffany Hayes added 21 points off the bench, and Gabby Williams tied her playoff career high with 20.
The opening quarter was a back-and-forth affair. Dallas led by as many as four points early, and the two teams traded six lead changes and four ties over the first 10 minutes. Paige Bueckers scored 11 points in the period for the Wings, including a pair of threes. Hayes checked in midway through the quarter and immediately made an impact, scoring seven points, including a steal and fast-break layup and a go-ahead driving layup with 46 seconds left that sent Golden State into the second quarter with a 21-20 lead.
The second quarter belonged to the Valkyries. Hayes opened the period with back-to-back threes, and Golden State turned consecutive Dallas turnovers into points when Kayla Thornton finished a transition three off a Hayes steal and followed with a fast-break layup off a Williams steal, pushing the lead to 34-24 and forcing a Wings timeout. Zandalasini scored 12 points in the quarter on 4-of-5 shooting, and Veronica Burton closed the half with a step-back three at the 17.9-second mark. Golden State outscored Dallas 37-11 in the period, shot 72.2% (13-of-18) from the field and 70% (7-of-10) from three, did not commit a single turnover, and took a 58-31 lead into halftime.
The Valkyries continued to build on that advantage after the break. Thornton hit a three and scored on a driving layup early in the third quarter to extend the lead to 66-33, and Golden State led by as many as 34 in the period before taking an 85-56 lead into the fourth. Williams knocked down a three at the 7:38 mark of the final quarter to give the Valkyries their largest lead of the night at 36 points. Earlier in the quarter, Aminata Gueye scored her first career WNBA points on a driving layup.
Hayes finished with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, along with four assists and two steals. She became the second player in WNBA postseason history to post that stat line as a reserve. Williams went 8-of-16 from the field with four assists, three rebounds and a steal. Burton added 10 points and a team-high five assists while going a perfect 2-of-2 from the line and 2-of-2 from three. Thornton also scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three, with five rebounds and an assist. Kiah Stokes anchored the defense with a team-high eight rebounds, six of them defensive, along with two assists and a block.
Golden State knocked down 18 threes on 36 attempts, tying the team record for threes in a game across the regular season and postseason. The total is the second most in WNBA postseason history, trailing only Las Vegas, which hit 23 in 2022. The Valkyries’ eight threes off the bench tied the all-time WNBA postseason record for bench threes in a game, and their 50% shooting from beyond the arc was a season high. Golden State also committed just four turnovers while scoring 15 points off 10 Dallas turnovers.
Bueckers led Dallas with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting and six rebounds. Kitija Laksa and Maddy Siegrist each added 11 points, with Laksa scoring all 11 in the fourth quarter on three threes as the Wings won the final period 24-19.
Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase praised Zandalasini’s performance and the ball movement that set her up.
“She has another level, she saw a couple go in, and V [Veronica Burton] found her, Gabby [Williams] found her, everybody found her,” Nakase said. “That’s what we talk about with patience, and composure, and finding the right hand. Just seeing that, she’s [Cecilia Zandalasini] just got another level.”
Williams said the team’s goal was to set the tone for the series.
“We wanted to start well and set the tone for the rest of the series,” Williams said. “I think what was great about tonight was watching every single person contribute and seeing everyone get going.”
Williams also pointed to Hayes’ production off the bench as a reflection of the team’s identity.
“She’s [Tiffany Hayes] just unguardable, and I think just watching someone give us that boost of energy off of the bench, that’s part of our identity,” Williams said. “Knowing I can play as hard as I can when I’m on the court because as soon as someone else comes in, we have another burst; and that’s just what we’ve hung our hat on all season is our depth. Tip is one of the all-time greats in this league, and so just watching her get going, I think we all feed off of her.”
Zandalasini said the milestone win reflects the team’s growth from last season.
“It feels great. It feels great starting well this time. So [we’ve] just got to keep going,” Zandalasini said. “First game, first series, so we just got to think about the next one; and I think you can see the growth that we have from last year. So it just kind of goes with everybody being focused and keep growing from last season to this season.”
The Valkyries will visit Dallas for Game 2 of the first-round series on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. PT, with coverage on ESPN, 95.7 The Game, ESPN 1320 and the Audacy App.
Discover more from KB Sports Media
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
