The first night back after an extended break is always a bit tricky. You’ve got to regain your rhythm and get back in the swing of things.
The New York Liberty and Golden State Valkyries both returned to action after being off for a week. The Liberty last played in Portland on May 14 while the Valkyries last played at home on May 13. Both teams have been off and have gotten plenty of time to rest up and get some practice time in.
The Valkyries got off to a great start led by their off-season acquisition,
Gabby Williams. Natalie Nakase has empowered Williams to take on a bigger role compared to what we normally see from her in the WNBA, and she set the tone early.
Golden State jumped out to a 10 point first quarter and withstood some Liberty runs throughout the night. In the second, New York cut the Valkyries lead to two at 27-25. However, Williams and the Valkyries immediately responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead back up to nine.
After half, the Valkyries threw wrenches in the Liberty attack. New York was only able to 12 points in the third quarter as the Valkyries took complete control of the game. The Valkyrie pressure made initiating offense for the Liberty very challenging
Final score: Golden State Valkyries 87, New York Liberty 70
If you wanted to distill the game down to one statistic, you can probably go with three point attempts. The Valks lead the WNBA in threes attempted per game and took 35 threes to New York’s 24. That discrepancy highlighted something the Liberty will look to be better at the next time they’re on the court.
“The Valkyries are a team that they want to shoot threes and [restricted area] twos,” Breanna Stewart said in postgame. “They don’t want the pull ups, and we didn’t play them for that. I think that better awareness of who’s who’s in front of you and who you’re guarding [will help on defense].”
The Liberty have some things to work on. Fortunately for them, they’re starting to get some reinforcements.
Back in action
Satou Sabally made her Liberty debut tonight. She’s been out for a while as an illness kept her out of action for a while. Prior to the game, Chris DeMarco mentioned that he would keep her to a minutes total of around 20 or so. In total, she played 16 minutes in her debut but had some rust in her game. Satou went 2-8 from the field and missed some shots at the rim that she normally makes. Despite the rough numbers, there was optimism about her performance and what she can do going forward.
“She played aggressively,” Jonquel Jones said. “She had good quality shots and I think for her debut and not playing in a long time, I think she did a lot of good things out there.”
For Satou, the first game was a bit rough, but still a victory in its own right.
“A little rusty,” Sabally said, but grateful that I can be out there.”
As Sabally shakes off the rust and gets more comfortable in the Liberty offense, she will have more dominant and successful outings. It was rough today, but the next time out should be a lot better for her and the team.
Next up
The homestand continues with a national TV matchup against the Dallas Wings. Tip at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
- Boxscore: Golden State Valkyries 87, New York Liberty 70 – WNBA
- Game Highlights: Golden State Valkyries 87, New York Liberty 70 (Video) – WNBA
- Gabby Williams sparks a Valkyries rout of the Liberty, spoiling Satou Sabally’s debut – Doug Feinberg – AP
- Liberty begin seven-game homestand with a dud in loss to Valkyries – Madeline Kenney – New York Post
- Liberty coach Chris DeMarco has plenty of reasons to watch Knicks-Cavs series ‘closely’ – Madeline Kenney – New York Post
- Satou Sabally makes highly anticipated Liberty debut after missing first four games – Madeline Kenney – New York Post
- Liberty’s Chris DeMarco ‘closely’ watching ex-staff mates in Knicks-Cavaliers Eastern Conference Finals ($) – Fiifi Frimbong – New York Daily News
