Gabby Williams scored 15 points, Kaila Charles added 12 points and seven rebounds, and the Golden State Valkyries ran away from the Connecticut Sun for a 97-70 win.<\/p>\n
SAN FRANCISCO(AP) \u2014 Gabby Williams scored 15 points, Kaila Charles added 12 points and seven rebounds, and the Golden State Valkyries ran away from the Connecticut Sun for a 97-70 win on Monday night.<\/p>\n
Williams made 4 of her first 6 shots and wound up 6 for 10 with three 3-pointers as the Valkyries (4-2) jumped out to a 17-11 lead and kept building it against the cold-shooting Sun. Veronica Burton added 11 points and six assists.<\/p>\n
Aneesah Morrow came off the bench to contribute 11 points and 10 rebounds for Connecticut (1-7), which is four games into a season-long five-game road trip. Second-year guard Hailey Van Lith, in her first season with the team, went 2 for 7 from the floor and Saniya Rivers missed all eight of her shots. <\/p>\n
Sun center Olivia Nelson-Ododa returned from a four-game absence with a right ankle injury and had a minutes restriction of 12.<\/p>\n
Kayla Thornton grabbed eight rebounds for Golden State, which led by 17 at halftime. The Valkyries welcomed back Cecilia Zandalasini after she was sidelined for four games dealing with a concussion, and the forward had six points in nearly 14 minutes.<\/p>\n
Golden State rookie Juste Jocyte, the team’s first-ever draft pick selected fifth overall last year, entered the game with 4:48 left for her debut and immediately scored on a pull-up jumper and then hit a 3. It was her first game being active after she returned from playing overseas.<\/p>\n
Sun center Brittney Griner didn’t play as she has been nursing a rib injury. She needs one point to become the 18th player in WNBA history to reach 6,000 career points.<\/p>\n
\nUp next <\/p>\n
Connecticut concludes its road trip Wednesday at Portland, while the Valkyries continue a four-game homestand by hosting Indiana on Thursday. <\/p>\n