Valkyries put up fight, but fall short to Sabrina Ionescu-led Liberty at home

SAN FRANCISCO — For the second time this season, the Valkyries put up a valiant effort against the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty but couldn’t find a way to win down the stretch. 

Golden State went shot-for-shot with the Liberty for most of Wednesday’s game, but fell just short in a 81-78 loss before another sellout crowd of 18,064 at Chase Center. 

Kate Martin scored a game-high 21 points for the Valkyries. Her last-second heave from the top of the arc fell short as the Valkyries fell to 7-7. 

Tiffany Hayes had 15 points and Stephanie Talbot added 13 for Golden State. 

Breanna Stewart scored 23 points – 21 in the first half – and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Liberty. Walnut Creek native Sabrina Ionescu had 11 points, making clutch free throws and a big steal in the waning minutes. 

The sellout was the Valkyries’ eighth at Chase Center in as many home games.

The Liberty took a slim lead into the fourth quarter after a flurry of 3-pointers from Marine Johannes gave the visitors a 64-61 advantage.

For a moment, it looked as if New York was going to pull away as it built a six-point lead.

But Martin kept the Valkyries in the game. The second-year guard hit four 3s as Golden State momentarily took a one-point lead. 

With under a minute left and trailing by two, the Valkyries had a shot to tie the game. But Ionescu stripped Hayes and hit two free throws on the other end to make the score 79-75 with 21.1 seconds left. 

Martin hit a deep fadeaway 3 to cut the lead back to one, but Ionescu responded with two more free throws to put the Liberty back up three. 

On their final possession, the Valkyries had two chances to tie the game. Kayla Thornton’s shot from the right wing missed and Martin’s final shot from 30 feet out didn’t touch the rim as New York escaped with a win, its third against Golden State this season.

The Liberty also beat the Valkyries 95-67 on May 27 and 82-77 on May 29, with both of those games in New York.

 

Despite Stewart scoring 21 points in the first half, the Valkyries’ kept things close behind a balanced scoring attack from Talbot and Hayes. They combined for 25 points, which included four 3-pointers. 

Golden State held Ionescu to 0-for-5 shooting from the field in the first half and trailed 46-43 at intermission.

A high-scoring first quarter saw both teams combine to make 10 3s. Golden State made 6 of its 10 shots from beyond the arc to take a 32-29 lead after the first period. 

The Valkyries will play host to Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky on Friday.