Valkyries instant analysis: Golden State survives fourth-quarter meltdown against Storm
Valkyries star Gabby Williams said her team needed to do better at halftime.
They did. But just barely.
The Valkyries built a commanding lead behind 22 points from Janelle Salaün and 19 from Williams, then spent the fourth quarter watching Natisha Hiedeman – who finished with a game-high 26 – chip away at their advantage one bucket at a time.
Golden State scored just eight points in the final period and made just one field goal, but survived because their 15-point second half lead was enough to absorb the collapse in a 76-72 win over the Storm.
Despite the win, Williams believed the Valkyries should have taken the Storm (3-12) more seriously.
“We can’t come out and just expect teams to roll over,” Williams said. “We can’t also just rely on our offense, we have to come out with more energy.”
The Valkyries shot 36% from the field and 22% from the 3-point line, but held Seattle's young front court duo of Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam to just 17 points combined while outrebounding the Storm 33-31.
The home teams came out hot from the start, opening with an 18-8 run.
Golden State stabilized itself in the second quarter and took a two-point lead at halftime, but it was not pretty.
The Valkyries shot 40% from the field and hit just four of their 4-of-19 3-point attempts. Hiedeman got going in the first half as she scored 13 of her points through the first two quarters.
But Golden State seemingly flipped the script in the third quarter.
Led by a barrage of buckets from Williams and Salaün, the Valkyries took a 66-53 lead going into the final 10 minutes. A driving layup from Williams made the score 59-44, giving Golden State its largest lead of the night.
With all the momentum, the Valkyries looked poised to cruise to an easy win. A few stops and a few buckets might have taken the young Storm's heart.
But somehow, the Valkyries went cold and the Storm kept fighting.
Golden State didn't score a point through the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Seattle meanwhile chipped away at the Valkyries' double-digit lead.
With 50.3 seconds left, Malonga drew Salaün's sixth foul and made two free throws to make the score 71-70.
On the next possession, Tiffany Hayes turned the ball over to give Seattle a shot at the lead. However, after the Valkyries got another stop, Hayes hit two free throws with 21.3 seconds left to give the Valkyries a three-point advantage.
On the ensuing possession, Jade Melbourne's layup cut the Valkyries' lead back to one. Williams added two more points to the lead shortly after, hitting two clutch free throws.
Seattle had one last chance to seal a win as Hiedeman came down the court with just over 11 seconds left. As she pulled up for a 3-pointer from the left wing, starting center Kiah Stokes made the game-winning play as she block the veteran guard’s long ball attempt and then won the jump ball after the two players got tied up for the rebound.
Despite shooting 1-for-16 and committing five turnovers in the final period, Valkyries coach Nakase said nothing worried her about her team’s fourth quarter performance.
“No problem. I just thought we closed really well,” Nakase said. “We ended with our defense again. When it doesn’t fall, it doesn’t fall again. I would love to shoot 100% and we’re still working on that, but it’s more for me. The way we finished and closed, we relied on our defense. That’s where I feel like we’re very confident in.”
Nakase switches it up
The Valkyries desperately needed a spark after such a sluggish first half.
After starting the game with Cecilia Zandalasini and Kayla Thornton, Nakase opted to replace the veteran forwards with Salaün and veteran guard Tiffany Hayes.
The duo helped the Valkyries make their third-quarter push, combining for 10 of Golden State's 26 points.
Hayes has milestone night
The 36-year-old guard had a night for the record books.
After completing a 3-point play in the second quarter, she became the 21st player in league history to have at least 5,000 points, 900 assists and 300 steals in her career.
She finished Friday’s game with 17 points and hit all seven of her free throw attempts.
“That’s incredible coming from a player who maybe was about to walk away from the game and came back,” Nakase said of Hayes. “She made two crucial free throws. Game on the line, I thought she stepped up with confidence. Even with the crowd and the refs, it almost felt like they kind of tried to freeze her out. So just proud of Tip.”
Rotation stays the same
For those on Justė Jocytė watch, there was no action to see.
Jocytė has registered her third straight DNP, seemingly falling out of Nakase’s rotation as she opts to go with Hayes and Kaitlyn Chen as the backup ball handlers.
Nakase said pregame that she is still trying to adjust Jocytė to becoming a point guard.
“I don’t think you can evolve a point guard overnight,” Nakase said. “I have to continue to press her buttons and challenge her, but I also have to see it come to fruition in stay ready games. I think it’s good to take some time.”
Backup center Laeticia Amihere was also a healthy scratch, playing just one minute over the last five games.
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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 9:55 PM.