The Golden State Valkyries held off a furious Las Vegas Aces comeback to win Game 2 by a final score of 83-81, going up 2-0 in the semifinal series against the reigning WNBA champions.
Here are takeaways from the win.
Advertisement
Limiting A’ja, to a point:
Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson posed perhaps the biggest threat to the Valkyries’ title hopes of anyone in the playoff mix. At 6-foot-4, she has the size and a will to score that gave a smaller Golden State roster fits in the two teams’ regular-season matchups — all of which the Aces won.
The Valkyries countered Wilson’s size with all the size they’ve got this semifinal round. And it has worked so far. Center Kiah Stokes has been the primary defender on Wilson. Paired with Aminata Gueye — who has only been on the team since Sept. 20 — Stokes limited the Aces star’s powers.
Their best work happened in the first half, and especially the first quarter. Wilson went 2-for-4 from the field, scoring six points total, and collected one rebound. The second quarter was even more stifling as she went into halftime 2-for-6 from the field.
Advertisement
The Aces clawed their way back into the game in the second half, which coincided with both Stokes and Gueye landing in foul trouble. The pair played with four personal fouls for a majority of the second half and with five during the game’s final five minutes.
The two had to defend accordingly – balancing caution with necessary pressure. The Valkyries defense flipped into a zone defense occasionally to accommodate.
Wilson took advantage. At one point mid-way through the third quarter, she shot 6-of-7 from the field, feasting mostly in the paint. She finished with 24 points and got to the free throw line six times as the Aces tied the game at 74-74 with just over two minutes remaining in the game, chipping away at a 17-point lead the Valkyries once held.
Where’s Burton?
Advertisement
Veronica Burton went missing for a majority of the second half of Golden State’s Game 1 win. She missed badly on an open layup and ticked iron on a 3 before subbing out for Kaitlyn Chen. Head coach Natalie Nakase said Burton was feeling “amazing” and that Chen was “fresh” off the bench.
Burton played 27 minutes, but was deferential in Game 2. She opted not to drive to the basket or take many shots. She was 0-for-2 until the final minute of the game with three points on the foul line.
But with the game tied at 76 apiece in the final minute, Burton had no choice but to take her shot on a 28-foot 3-pointer. It went in, ultimately serving as the biggest shot made in crunch time.
With Golden State up three, the two teams went into a foul-off until Jackie Young appeared to intentionally miss her final free throw with five seconds remaining and Burton wrangled the rebound to run out the clock and secure the 2-0 series lead.
Advertisement
Subscribe
There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.
This article originally published at Valkyries fend off Aces’ comeback, head to Las Vegas up 2-0 after Veronica Burton’s clutch three.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
