The Golden State Valkyries got their first-ever win on the back of a career game from Veronica Burton. Golden State beat Washington 76-74 despite another bad shooting night.
The Valkyries opened their season shooting only 25.7 percent from three. In their second game, they didn’t shoot it well either, for the most part, finishing the game shooting only 18.9 percent from three. Nevertheless, the Valkyries showed flashes of the shooting they are capable of in the fourth quarter.
The WNBA’s newest franchise converted four of its eight 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
The Valkyries had a big fourth quarter
The Valkyries only won the fourth quarter by one point, but did enough to edge out the win. They finally hit some threes, and that changed the momentum of the game.
Golden State started the game 0-9 from three in the first quarter. As a team, they only made three of their 29 attempts from long range through the first three quarters. Then, Veronica Burton, Carla Leite, and Kayla Thornton hit some big threes in the fourth and allowed the Valkyries to take the lead in an incredibly close game.
The Valkyries take a lot of threes. Without a clear-cut go-to scorer, especially with Tiffany Hayes out, a lot of their offense relies on players getting into the paint and kicking the ball out to open shooters. If the Valkyries can start to make their threes like they did in the fourth quarter, they will be much more dangerous offensively. The Valkyries have yet to crack the 80-point mark in a game. Improved 3-point shooting could get them there quickly.
The Valkyries still have to show that they can make threes consistently
While the fourth quarter was incredibly encouraging, the Valkyries still have to show they can shoot the three well for an entire game. The team’s 3-29 shooting performance in the first three quarters was brutal. Only Burton shot a good individual percentage from long range, even though the Valkyries have plenty of capable 3-point shooters at several positions.
If the Valkyries can fix their 3-point shooting issues, they will quickly look like a much more competitive team. They showed plenty of encouraging signs in their first two games. The defense was good, Burton and Hayes displayed their ability to step up as scorers, and Janelle Salaün and Carla Leite showed their potential in the Vakyries’ second game.