SAN FRANCISCO – A rash of injuries was not enough to prevent the Valkyries from romping to their fifth consecutive victory on Wednesday night at Chase Center. Despite being at a size disadvantage against the 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso, the undersized Valkyries rolled past the Chicago Sky 91-71.

With Kiah Stokes and Janelle Salaun out with injuries, the Valkyries still enjoyed a speed advantage against the struggling Sky. Golden State raced out to 15 fast break points and 42 points in the paint. A franchise-record 16 steals helped in that endeavor.

Tiffany Hayes enjoyed her best game of the season, scoring a season-high 22 points. She also contributed five assists and six rebounds.

The Valkyries led 43-40 at halftime and extended the lead in the third quarter. A pair of  Kaitlyn Chen 3-pointers to end the third stretched the Valkyries’ advantage to 72-58 entering the fourth quarter.

Gabby Williams, a Chicago draft pick, terrorized her former team to the tune of 13 points and three steals. Veronica Burton chipped in 13 points and six rebounds, while Kaila Charles added 11 points off the bench.

Golden State (24-9) has now surpassed last year’s win total and remains in possession of the second-best record in the WNBA. The Valkyries will play host to the Dallas Wings on Monday.

Prechtel gets run

With Stokes out with a concussion and smallball five Salaun dealing with a sore knee, the Valkyries’ center rotation underwent a major overhaul. 

Laeticia Amihere earned the first start of her 95-game WNBA career, but only played 15 minutes, scoring two points and grabbing only one rebound. 

With deep reserves and Stanford alumni Nadia Fingall and Ashten Prechtel both available in the post, Nakase opted to give Prechtel the first shot off the bench. The 25-year-old center ended up playing 18 minutes, scoring three points on free throws and grabbing three rebounds but doing a solid job of guarding the towering Cardoso. Fingall did not play until the final two minutes alongside Juste Jocyte. 

Cardoso still put up impressive stats, scoring 20 and grabbing six rebounds.

Hayes gives Valkyries spark

Salaun was relegated to the role of spectator, but the Valkyries did not lack for scoring off the bench. Hayes continued her strong play post-All-Star break, scoring in double figures for the fifth time in six games off the bench. 

Still quick as ever at 36 years old, Hayes sped past Chicago guards such as Tasha Cloud and fellow millennial Courtney Vandersloot for layups. With 2:24 left in the third quarter, Hayes made the Valkyries crowd hold its collective breath after making a layup through contact, staying on the ground for several moments after appearing to be hit in the face by Elizabeth Williams. 

She eventually stood up and walked to the bench, and then stepped up to make the free throw after a timeout.

Of Hayes’ eight made baskets, seven of them came in the paint. She also connected on one of her two 3-pointers.

Injury issues

The Valkyries have been remarkably healthy this season, going long stretches without having a single player on the injury report.

But over the course of a 44-game regular season, a few knocks are unavoidable. Starting center Stokes missed her first game of the year after starting all 32 games up to that point. She has averaged 4.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, but her value has come as a defender. Stokes is averaging 2.0 blocks per game, the second-highest number of her career. 

Meanwhile, Salaun, the WNBA’s frontrunner for Sixth Player of the Year, watched the game in street clothes after being ruled out with right knee soreness. Salaun is averaging a career-high 13 points per game while also making 80 3-pointers, her 2.5 makes per game being the seventh most in the league.