Cecilia Zandalasini made all five of her 3-pointers, a first in Valkyries history, as Golden State held off the Sparks 84-78 on Sunday.
Cecilia Zandalasini went 5-of-5 from 3-point range for 15 points, and the Golden State Valkyries held off the Los Angeles Sparks 84-78 on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena after leading by as many as 19.
Zandalasini is the first player in Valkyries history to make at least five 3-pointers in a game without a miss. The WNBA record for most 3-pointers in a game without a miss is six. Zandalasini entered Sunday questionable with left calf soreness. She finished 5-of-8 from the field with seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Golden State (23-9) scored 29 points in the first quarter, a season high for any quarter. Zandalasini opened the scoring with a left-wing 3-pointer and hit another from the same spot minutes later to start a 9-0 run. Both Zandalasini and Gabby Williams shot 3-of-3 from the field in the period, all of Gabby Williams' baskets coming inside the arc. The Valkyries ran off 18 of 22 points from the 7:07 mark to 2:43 to lead 23-8. Golden State led 29-15 after one and never trailed.
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said Los Angeles put its head down and attacked the paint through the fourth quarter, and that Golden State has to stay in early shifts and do better on the boards.
"Yeah, in the first," Nakase said. "But how many quarters are there? I've got to get all four."
"Like I said, I have to continue to, you know, push the buttons," Nakase continued. "Maybe I could be a little bit more intentional versus matchups. But I think, again, what we're learning is that it's tough to win on the road, more importantly. And I think we took a big composure step today, just in terms of — you know, they got really physical, but we maintained, not, you know, complaining. I think we did a great job not complaining, just hanging in there and really huddling quicker than normal. So I give them a good grade for that."
Nine Valkyries scored in the first half. Veronica Burton led all players with four assists over the half, three of them on 3-pointers, and did not score. Tiffany Hayes scored 8 points in eight minutes off the bench, including an and-1 over Cameron Brink. Golden State doubled the Sparks in assists before the break, 14-7, and held Los Angeles to 32 points, tied for the fewest the Valkyries have allowed in a half this season.
Midway through the third quarter Golden State pulled down five offensive rebounds on one possession. Zandalasini got the first off a Gabby Williams miss from 21 feet. Kiah Stokes secured the ball after a Kayla Thornton 3-pointer missed. The Valkyries were first to another Gabby Williams miss, and Thornton then forced a jump ball off a missed Burton 3-pointer and won it. Stokes got to a Kaila Charles miss and found Hayes, who had just checked in, for a 3-pointer.
Los Angeles held Golden State to 8-of-21 shooting and 3-of-8 from long range in the third and led the quarter 14-8 in the paint.
Kaitlyn Chen made a layup 24 seconds into the fourth for a 66-47 lead. The Sparks then scored 26 of the next 34 points, pulling within 74-73 on an Ariel Atkins 3-pointer with 1:38 left. Los Angeles shot 13-of-20 from the field and 5-of-9 from deep in the fourth. The Sparks scored 8 points off turnovers in the period to Golden State's 2.
Kayla Thornton said Gabby Williams turns defense into offense and that her energy makes teammates better on that end.
"Yeah, I think we kind of relaxed on our defense a little bit," Thornton said. "I think our communication wasn't there. But like she said, you know, it's going to be like that. That's playoff basketball. You're going to have your highs and lows, but we stayed together. We didn't let it get us down, and we just stuck to it. But shout out to LA for that."
Gabby Williams intercepted an outlet pass and banked in a runner. Janelle Salaün followed with a left-wing 3-pointer with 33.7 seconds remaining to put Golden State up six. Thornton and Burton each made a pair of free throws and Gabby Williams added one more. Thornton's pair with 21 seconds left made it 81-73.
Cecilia Zandalasini said Golden State is taking the season game by game rather than looking at where it finishes in the standings.
"I mean, for sure it's a very good win for us, because it wasn't very pretty, especially in the second half," Zandalasini said. "But for sure we got to do a better job keeping the lead that we worked hard to get. So, maintain that lead."
"But yeah, they played very hard," Zandalasini continued. "They played physical. And we were able to knock down very big shots with Tip and Ja. That's what they do. So we were able to secure the win. But on those couple of things, we have to be better."
Stokes sustained a neck contusion in the fourth quarter and did not return. She finished with 5 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in 20 minutes, and her five offensive rebounds were a team high. Stokes has started at center in every Golden State game this season. Salaün played most of the center minutes after she left.
Nakase said Salaün fights regardless of the size of her opponent and has been learning footwork from Stokes.
"Yeah, she's smiling," Nakase explained. "But I mean, I've never seen Kiah not get up. For the amount of years I've coached Kiah, that was the first time that I did not see her get up. I was very concerned because, you know, I was just trying to express to the refs, like, she always pops up. She's probably one of the toughest players I've ever coached. And so I was very scared, because she didn't get up and it took her a minute. So she was, you know, smiling, but obviously we have to get her evaluated and see how she's doing."
Hayes scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 2-of-3 from 3-point range with three rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes. Thornton had 11 points and seven rebounds. Gabby Williams also scored 11. Burton finished with 7 points, seven assists, and three steals, both team highs. Salaün scored 8 with two 3-pointers.
All 10 Valkyries who played scored. Golden State handed out 22 assists, its sixth straight game with at least 20, and won its 23rd game of the season, matching its total from its inaugural season. Golden State set a franchise record with 27 assists at Dallas on Friday.
Nneka Ogwumike led the Sparks (12-19) with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, going 2-of-2 at the line. Erica Wheeler scored 15 with a team-high three 3-pointers, two rebounds, and four assists. Dearica Hamby scored 12, including a game-high 8 in the third quarter on 4-of-5 shooting.
Nneka Ogwumike said the details showed up in the first quarter, and that Los Angeles cannot play even one quarter that way against a team like Golden State.
"I think today was kind of more of a mind-over-matter type of day," Ogwumike said. "You know, I don't want to use the schedule as an excuse. You know, as pros — like, I've been doing this a long time, there's always a point in the season when the schedule gets like this. And so I think today was a bit more mind over matter, and it took us a little bit of time to kind of get into the game."
"But I am happy that we didn't just acquiesce, you know, to the results of the first quarter," Ogwumike continued. "So yeah, you really just kind of have to get that focus and lock in, as E was telling us after the game."
Kiana Williams scored 10 points in 15 minutes and had a season-high three assists, one shy of her career high. Seven of those points came in the first quarter, when she went 3-of-3 from the field and 1-of-1 from 3-point range in under three and a half minutes. Brink had seven points, seven rebounds, a block, and a season-high two steals. The block moved her into sole possession of seventh on the Sparks' career blocks list, past Azurá Stevens.
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said Golden State put Gabby Williams on Rae Burrell and frustrated her, and that Burrell handled it well in the fourth quarter.
"Well, thank goodness she was there in the first quarter, because I don't know how many we would have scored," Roberts said. "But I respect that she hasn't played in the last couple games, and she came in and was fearless and ready to go. And that's — I respect that. And that's hard. It's a hard job when you're not sure if you're going to play or not. And, you know, now you're in the rotation again, and to be ready and confident, that's hard."
Los Angeles led in points in the paint 38-34, second-chance points 21-15, and fast-break points 5-2. Monique Akoa Makani did not play. The Sparks have been without a permanent general manager since July 12.
The announced attendance was 15,739.
Golden State hosts the Chicago Sky at Chase Center on Wednesday. Los Angeles hosts the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday at Galen Center.
