Seattle’s late-season loss
The Seattle Storm’s difficult finish continued Saturday night with a 70-57 loss to the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center. The WNBA.com recap by Janie McCauley of The Associated Press listed Seattle at 8-34 after its third straight loss and sixth in seven games.
Rookie Flau’jae Johnson led Seattle with 17 points. The Storm scored 19 points in the first quarter but managed six in the second, allowing Golden State to take a 49-25 halftime lead. Seattle answered with a 21-point third quarter and held the Valkyries to 11 points in the fourth, but the deficit proved too large to erase.
Charles sets the tone for Golden State
Kaila Charles led the Valkyries with 16 points, matched her career high with 12 rebounds and added four steals. Tiffany Hayes scored 10 points, while rookies Juste Jocyte and Laeticia Amihere each added 11 points off the bench.
The game recap credited Golden State with a 32-26 edge in points in the paint and a 32-16 advantage in bench points. Seattle committed 17 turnovers to Golden State’s 10.
Confirmed late-season context
The victory was Golden State’s sixth in a row and moved the Valkyries to 31-11, second in the league behind Minnesota, according to the recap. The announced attendance was 18,064, and the report said every Chase Center game had sold out in the franchise’s first two seasons.
The source also reported that Golden State coach Natalie Nakase rested stars returning from the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. Those were game-day circumstances, not a new roster or postseason decision.
Seattle was scheduled to visit Las Vegas the following day to complete a road back-to-back. The confirmed story from San Francisco is narrower: Johnson led the Storm’s scoring, but Golden State’s second-quarter separation dictated the 70-57 result.