Just as they had truly begun to ignite, the caverns of Ballhala quieted, a sea of violet-shirted warriors turned temporary ghosts. Empty, for a time. No drum rang across the hardwood, and no purple strobe danced across thousands of screaming faces, and bubbling playoff anticipation for the Bay Area’s newest favorites simmered as the Golden State Valkyries went back to their respective ends of the earth. But further.
The simple concept of stopping play for three weeks – smack-dab in the middle of a chase for pole post-season jogging – was “kinda crazy,” as forward Kaila Charles asserted.
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“Coming back was like, ‘Dang, I feel like I’ve been gone forever,'” she chuckled Friday night, an hour before tip-off against the Portland Fire.
“But I think,” she continued, “it’s going to work for our advantage.”
Indeed, not even a forced stoppage of the WNBA calendar could snuff out the exuberance that’s built inside the Chase Center this summer, the Valkyries picking up right where they left off three weeks ago in an 82-66 drubbing of the Portland Fire Friday night. By the time individual sections of the crowd erupted with a DJ’s shouts of North Bay and South Bay and East Bay before the fourth quarter, Golden State had long dispatched Portland, guard Tip Hayes roaring like a gladiator after a euro-step layup through the lane brought the Valkyries to a tidy 15-point lead close to the end of the third.
And as the rest of the WNBA works to get their legs underneath them after the hiatus, the currently top-seeded Minnesota Lynx (31-10) dropped their Friday matchup against the New York Liberty – bringing the Valkyries (30-11) to just a game back in league standings.
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The Lynx still own a tiebreaker in regular-season wins over Golden State, meaning the Valkyries would have to win at least two of their final three and Minnesota would have to lose at least two for a change atop the standings. But a No. 1 seed is now squarely in sight for these Valkyries after Friday night’s win, buoyed by the same post-break advantage that’s played to their favor all season: sheer depth.
Golden State’s two top scorers Veronica Burton and Gabby Williams – along with key starter Cecilia Zandalasini – watched in street clothes from the end of the bench Friday, all still re-acclimating after respective appearances overseas for the subsequent weeks’ FIBA tournament. That didn’t matter. The deepest depths of the Valkyries’ bench stepped up Friday, with reserve guard Kaitlyn Chen knocking in a season-best five threes and reserve big Laeticia Amihere flashing a dynamic inside-out game in a 17-point effort.
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This article originally published at Short-handed Valkyries return from break, rout expansion Portland.
