76 — 75
A lead Los Angeles built, then lost
Golden State actually owned the first small edge. The Valkyries led 15-13 after one quarter, with Gabby Williams setting the early tone and Kiah Stokes giving them useful inside minutes. Williams scored six in the opening period, Stokes added a layup, and Golden State looked comfortable enough in a game that would spend much longer tilting the other way.
Los Angeles took control in the middle of the night. The Sparks erased a 17-13 deficit early in the second quarter, moved ahead on Monique Akoa Makani’s three at 8:22, and reached halftime up 35-26. They sharpened that advantage immediately after the break, when Erica Wheeler and Rae Burrell opened the third with back-to-back threes for a 41-26 score. By the time Akoa Makani converted at 3:00 of the third, the lead was 53-37, matching a largest advantage of 16. It looked deserved too: Los Angeles finished with 22 assists, hit nine threes and led for 71 percent of the game.
The comeback started before the final rush
What kept Golden State alive was not elegant balance so much as steady pressure in the simplest places. The Valkyries scored 42 points in the paint to Los Angeles’ 32, got to the line 21 times and made 17, and gave the Sparks fewer free possessions by finishing with only 10 total turnovers. Veronica Burton was central to that survival work, mixing drives with free throws on her way to 17 points and five assists, while Stokes cleaned up the interior with 12 rebounds.
The game’s turning point did not arrive all at once in the final minute. It began with the way Golden State closed the third quarter. Down 53-37, the Valkyries chipped away through Janelle Salaun, Burton and then Kaitlyn Chen, whose layup with 56.8 seconds left and pullup jumper with 35.2 seconds left cut the deficit to 55-46 entering the fourth. It was only a nine-point gap, but after spending most of the quarter buried, Golden State had at least changed the shape of the finish.
Chen lit the fuse; Williams delivered the blow
Even then, Los Angeles still had repeated chances to shut the door. Dearica Hamby’s three-point play pushed the Sparks to 63-50 with 7:11 left, and the lead was still 72-62 after her free throw at 3:06. But Chen kept bending the game back toward Golden State. She scored 14 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, finishing at the rim, knocking down a three at 3:49, and completing a three-point play at 2:10 to make it 72-65. Burton’s three and free throws supplied another layer of pressure, and suddenly the large deficit looked fragile.
Then Williams authored the sequence that will define this result. She drilled a three with 1:30 remaining to cut it to 72-68, scored again on a running layup at 1:03, and with 20.8 seconds left buried another three for a 73-72 Golden State lead. That was the decisive swing in a game the Valkyries had spent most of the night chasing. Kayla Thornton followed with a late technical free throw at 10.8 seconds and then two more free throws with 8.5 seconds left, stretching the margin to four before Burrell answered with a three at 0.4 seconds for the final 76-75 line.
The individual stat lines fit the way the game turned. Chen’s 18 points came on 8-for-12 shooting in 21 minutes, Burton paired 17 points with five assists and perfect 6-for-6 foul shooting, Williams finished with 14 and saved her loudest work for the final 90 seconds, and Stokes’ 12 rebounds gave Golden State a dependable interior base. Los Angeles had its own standout nights: Nneka Ogwumike posted 17 points, 15 rebounds and five assists, Hamby scored 15, and Burrell added 15 while going 4 for 6 from deep. In another game, those numbers would have been enough.
Our take
This is the kind of one-point result that punishes any lazy reading of the box score. The Sparks were good in several obvious areas: 41.2 percent shooting, nine made threes, 22 assists and long stretches of scoreboard control. But they also committed 14 total turnovers, which Golden State converted into 15 points, and they left five points at the foul line in a one-point defeat. Those are not side notes. They sit right at the center of why a team that led by 16 did not finish the job.
For Golden State, the win should feel thrilling without pretending everything worked smoothly. The Valkyries shot 39.1 percent and produced only 13 assists on 27 made field goals, which helps explain why they trailed for so long. What carried them was cleaner possession management, stronger paint production and late individual shot-making from Chen and Williams. If there is a lesson to bank from this one, it is that Golden State did not need a perfect offensive night to steal it; the Valkyries needed enough rim pressure, enough free throws and a closing burst that Los Angeles could not match until it was too late.
Scoring moments
- 1st Quarter · 9:35
Gabby Williams makes two point shot
- 1st Quarter · 8:48
Nneka Ogwumike makes running layup (Dearica Hamby assists)
- 1st Quarter · 7:54
Dearica Hamby makes driving layup
- 1st Quarter · 7:42
Gabby Williams makes 13-foot pullup jump shot
- 1st Quarter · 6:49
Kiah Stokes makes layup (Veronica Burton assists)
- 1st Quarter · 6:28
Gabby Williams makes running layup
- 1st Quarter · 6:03
Veronica Burton makes free throw 1 of 2
- 1st Quarter · 6:03
Veronica Burton makes free throw 2 of 2
- 1st Quarter · 5:34
Nneka Ogwumike makes layup (Rae Burrell assists)
- 1st Quarter · 5:08
Nneka Ogwumike makes 8-foot two point shot (Erica Wheeler assists)
- 1st Quarter · 3:37
Kaila Charles makes free throw 2 of 2
- 1st Quarter · 2:21
Ariel Atkins makes 20-foot running pullup jump shot (Nneka Ogwumike assists)
- 1st Quarter · 1:17
Janelle Salaun makes layup
- 1st Quarter · 39.2
Kaila Charles makes free throw 1 of 2
- 1st Quarter · 39.2
Kaila Charles makes free throw 2 of 2
- 1st Quarter · 20.6
Chance Gray makes 25-foot three point jumper (Tonie Morgan assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 9:32
Tiffany Hayes makes 4-foot two point shot (Kaila Charles assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 9:22
Tonie Morgan makes driving layup
- 2nd Quarter · 8:45
Dearica Hamby makes 2-foot layup (Tonie Morgan assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 8:22
Monique Akoa Makani makes 23-foot three point jumper (Chance Gray assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 6:57
Nneka Ogwumike makes 8-foot pullup jump shot (Erica Wheeler assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 6:22
Veronica Burton makes 2-foot two point shot
- 2nd Quarter · 6:12
Nneka Ogwumike makes 11-foot pullup jump shot
- 2nd Quarter · 4:28
Cecilia Zandalasini makes driving layup (Gabby Williams assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 4:03
Monique Akoa Makani makes 24-foot three point jumper (Ariel Atkins assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 3:29
Rae Burrell makes driving layup (Ariel Atkins assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 3:29
Rae Burrell makes free throw 1 of 1
- 2nd Quarter · 3:12
Kiah Stokes makes 2-foot layup (Veronica Burton assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 2:21
Dearica Hamby makes layup (Nneka Ogwumike assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 1:26
Kiah Stokes makes 23-foot three point jumper (Gabby Williams assists)
- 2nd Quarter · 1:08
Dearica Hamby makes free throw 2 of 2
- 2nd Quarter · 8.2
Nneka Ogwumike makes 9-foot turnaround jump shot
- 3rd Quarter · 9:13
Erica Wheeler makes 26-foot three point jumper (Ariel Atkins assists)
- 3rd Quarter · 8:47
Rae Burrell makes 24-foot three point jumper (Ariel Atkins assists)
- 3rd Quarter · 7:54
Veronica Burton makes running layup
- 3rd Quarter · 7:48
Nneka Ogwumike makes technical free throw
- 3rd Quarter · 7:22
Veronica Burton makes finger roll layup (Kiah Stokes assists)
- 3rd Quarter · 6:38
Veronica Burton makes free throw 1 of 2
- 3rd Quarter · 6:38
Veronica Burton makes free throw 2 of 2
- 3rd Quarter · 6:15
Erica Wheeler makes 7-foot two point shot
- 3rd Quarter · 5:59
Tiffany Hayes makes free throw 2 of 2
- 3rd Quarter · 4:24
Tiffany Hayes makes driving layup
- 3rd Quarter · 4:24
Tiffany Hayes makes free throw 1 of 1
- 3rd Quarter · 4:10
Rae Burrell makes 22-foot three point jumper (Nneka Ogwumike assists)
- 3rd Quarter · 3:43
Rae Burrell makes 23-foot three point step back jumpshot (Tonie Morgan assists)
- 3rd Quarter · 3:13
Janelle Salaun makes free throw 2 of 2
- 3rd Quarter · 3:00
Monique Akoa Makani makes 3-foot two point shot (Tonie Morgan assists)
- 3rd Quarter · 3:00
Monique Akoa Makani makes free throw 1 of 1
- 3rd Quarter · 2:43
Janelle Salaun makes 17-foot jumper (Kaitlyn Chen assists)
- 3rd Quarter · 2:15
Veronica Burton makes running layup
- 3rd Quarter · 1:20
Janelle Salaun makes free throw 2 of 2
- 3rd Quarter · 1:09
Tonie Morgan makes driving layup
- 3rd Quarter · 56.8
Kaitlyn Chen makes driving layup
- 3rd Quarter · 35.2
Kaitlyn Chen makes 9-foot pullup jump shot (Veronica Burton assists)
- 4th Quarter · 9:17
Nneka Ogwumike makes layup (Monique Akoa Makani assists)
- 4th Quarter · 8:53
Kaitlyn Chen makes 2-foot two point shot (Veronica Burton assists)
- 4th Quarter · 8:23
Ariel Atkins makes 25-foot three point jumper (Nneka Ogwumike assists)
- 4th Quarter · 8:02
Kaitlyn Chen makes 11-foot turnaround jump shot (Kiah Stokes assists)
- 4th Quarter · 7:11
Dearica Hamby makes layup (Nneka Ogwumike assists)
- 4th Quarter · 7:11
Dearica Hamby makes free throw 1 of 1
- 4th Quarter · 6:39
Veronica Burton makes 25-foot three point jumper (Kaitlyn Chen assists)
- 4th Quarter · 6:26
Nneka Ogwumike makes 10-foot pullup jump shot (Erica Wheeler assists)
- 4th Quarter · 6:15
Veronica Burton makes free throw 1 of 2
- 4th Quarter · 6:15
Veronica Burton makes free throw 2 of 2
- 4th Quarter · 5:34
Kaitlyn Chen makes driving layup
- 4th Quarter · 5:17
Dearica Hamby makes free throw 1 of 2
- 4th Quarter · 5:17
Dearica Hamby makes free throw 2 of 2
- 4th Quarter · 4:42
Ariel Atkins makes 11-foot pullup jump shot (Erica Wheeler assists)
- 4th Quarter · 4:29
Kaitlyn Chen makes finger roll layup
- 4th Quarter · 4:10
Dearica Hamby makes free throw 1 of 2
- 4th Quarter · 4:10
Dearica Hamby makes free throw 2 of 2
- 4th Quarter · 3:49
Kaitlyn Chen makes 24-foot three point jumper
- 4th Quarter · 3:06
Dearica Hamby makes free throw 2 of 2
- 4th Quarter · 2:10
Kaitlyn Chen makes driving layup
- 4th Quarter · 2:10
Kaitlyn Chen makes free throw 1 of 1
- 4th Quarter · 1:30
Gabby Williams makes 27-foot three point jumper (Veronica Burton assists)
- 4th Quarter · 1:03
Gabby Williams makes running layup
- 4th Quarter · 20.8
Gabby Williams makes 24-foot three point jumper (Kiah Stokes assists)
- 4th Quarter · 10.8
Kayla Thornton makes technical free throw
- 4th Quarter · 8.5
Kayla Thornton makes free throw 1 of 2
- 4th Quarter · 8.5
Kayla Thornton makes free throw 2 of 2
- 4th Quarter · 0.4
Rae Burrell makes 23-foot three point jumper (Erica Wheeler assists)
Golden State Valkyries — Players
| Player | MIN | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO | STL | BLK | OREB | DREB | PF | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kayla Thornton | 25 | 3 | 0-3 | 0-3 | 3-3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +11 |
| Gabby Williams | 20 | 14 | 6-14 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +4 |
| Cecilia Zandalasini | 15 | 2 | 1-6 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -9 |
| Kiah Stokes | 32 | 7 | 3-4 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 3 | +4 |
| Veronica Burton | 29 | 17 | 5-12 | 1-4 | 6-6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | +10 |
| Laeticia Amihere | 7 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -5 |
| Janelle Salaun | 13 | 6 | 2-7 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | -8 |
| Aminata Gueye | 4 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| Tiffany Hayes | 12 | 6 | 2-6 | 0-1 | 2-3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -5 |
| Kaila Charles | 22 | 3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | -1 |
| Kaitlyn Chen | 21 | 18 | 8-12 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +6 |
Los Angeles Sparks — Players
| Player | MIN | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO | STL | BLK | OREB | DREB | PF | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nneka Ogwumike | 35 | 17 | 8-17 | 0-4 | 1-2 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 2 | -4 |
| Dearica Hamby | 30 | 15 | 4-7 | 0-1 | 7-9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | -7 |
| Erica Wheeler | 19 | 5 | 2-9 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | +5 |
| Ariel Atkins | 28 | 7 | 3-9 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Rae Burrell | 34 | 15 | 5-15 | 4-6 | 1-1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -2 |
| Jihyun Park | 6 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | +1 |
| Tonie Morgan | 21 | 4 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -6 |
| Chance Gray | 9 | 3 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 |
| Monique Akoa Makani | 18 | 9 | 3-6 | 2-4 | 1-1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +7 |
Golden State Valkyries — Team statistics
| FG | 27-69 |
|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 39 |
| 3PT | 5-18 |
| Three Point % | 28 |
| FT | 17-21 |
| Free Throw % | 81 |
| Rebounds | 35 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 9 |
| Defensive Rebounds | 26 |
| Assists | 13 |
| Steals | 5 |
| Blocks | 3 |
| Turnovers | 9 |
| Team Turnovers | 1 |
| Total Turnovers | 10 |
| Technical Fouls | 0 |
| Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 7 |
| Fast Break Points | 8 |
| Points in Paint | 42 |
| Fouls | 20 |
| Largest Lead | 6 |
| Lead Changes | 4 |
| Percent Led | 23 |
Los Angeles Sparks — Team statistics
| FG | 28-68 |
|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 41 |
| 3PT | 9-25 |
| Three Point % | 36 |
| FT | 10-15 |
| Free Throw % | 67 |
| Rebounds | 33 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 6 |
| Defensive Rebounds | 27 |
| Assists | 22 |
| Steals | 2 |
| Blocks | 2 |
| Turnovers | 12 |
| Team Turnovers | 2 |
| Total Turnovers | 14 |
| Technical Fouls | 0 |
| Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 15 |
| Fast Break Points | 9 |
| Points in Paint | 32 |
| Fouls | 18 |
| Largest Lead | 16 |
| Lead Changes | 4 |
| Percent Led | 71 |