{"id":701178,"date":"2026-06-13T05:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T05:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/701178\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T05:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T05:59:15","slug":"valkyries-survive-fourth-quarter-meltdown-against-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/701178\/","title":{"rendered":"Valkyries survive fourth-quarter meltdown against Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Valkyries star Gabby Williams<\/a> said her team needed to do better at halftime.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They did. But just barely.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Valkyries built a commanding lead behind 22 points from Janelle Sala\u00fcn and 19 from Williams, then spent the fourth quarter watching Natisha Hiedeman<\/a> \u2013 who finished with a game-high 26 \u2013 chip away at their advantage one bucket at a time.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> win over the Storm.<\/p>\n

Despite the win, Williams believed the Valkyries should have taken the Storm (3-12) more seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t come out and just expect teams to roll over,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWe can\u2019t also just rely on our offense, we have to come out with more energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Valkyries shot 36% from the field and 22% from the 3-point line, but held Seattle\u2019s young front court duo of Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam to just 17 points combined while outrebounding the Storm 33-31.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SEATTLE,SEATTLE, WASHINGTON \u2013 JUNE 12: Head coach Natalie Nakase of the Golden State Valkyries communicates with the bench during the third quarter against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on June 12, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jack Compton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The home teams came out hot from the start, opening with an 18-8 run.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Golden State stabilized itself in the second quarter and took a two-point lead at halftime, but it was not pretty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Golden State seemingly flipped the script in the third quarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Led by a barrage of buckets from Williams and Sala\u00fcn, 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u2019s heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But somehow, the Valkyries went cold and the Storm kept fighting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SEATTLE,SEATTLE, WASHINGTON \u2013 JUNE 12: Natisha Hiedeman #2 of the Seattle Storm reacts after a three pointer during the third quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Climate Pledge Arena on June 12, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jack Compton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Golden State didn\u2019t score a point through the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Seattle meanwhile chipped away at the Valkyries\u2019 double-digit lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With 50.3 seconds left, Malonga drew Sala\u00fcn\u2019s sixth foul and made two free throws to make the score 71-70.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the ensuing possession, Jade Melbourne\u2019s layup cut the Valkyries\u2019 lead back to one. Williams added two more points to the lead shortly after, hitting two clutch free throws.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u2019s long ball attempt and then won the jump ball after the two players got tied up for the rebound.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SEATTLE,SEATTLE, WASHINGTON \u2013 JUNE 12: Kayla Thornton #5 of the Golden State Valkyries chases a loose ball during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on June 12, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jack Compton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Despite shooting 1-for-16 and committing five turnovers in the final period, Valkyries coach Nakase said nothing worried her about her team\u2019s fourth quarter performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo problem. I just thought we closed really well,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cWe ended with our defense again. When it doesn\u2019t fall, it doesn\u2019t fall again. I would love to shoot 100% and we\u2019re still working on that, but it\u2019s more for me. The way we finished and closed, we relied on our defense. That\u2019s where I feel like we\u2019re very confident in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nakase switches it up<\/p>\n

The Valkyries desperately needed a spark after such a sluggish first half.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After starting the game with Cecilia Zandalasini and Kayla Thornton, Nakase opted to replace the veteran forwards with Sala\u00fcn and veteran guard Tiffany Hayes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The duo helped the Valkyries make their third-quarter push, combining for 10 of Golden State\u2019s 26 points.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hayes has milestone night<\/p>\n

The 36-year-old guard had a night for the record books.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

She finished Friday\u2019s game with 17 points and hit all seven of her free throw attempts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s incredible coming from a player who maybe was about to walk away from the game and came back,\u201d Nakase said of Hayes. \u201cShe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SEATTLE,SEATTLE, WASHINGTON \u2013 JUNE 12: Tiffany Hayes #15 of the Golden State Valkyries fights through contact from Flau\u2019jae Johnson #4 of the Seattle Storm during the third quarter at Climate Pledge Arena on June 12, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jack Compton\/Getty Images) ***BESTPIX***<\/p>\n

Rotation stays the same<\/p>\n

For those on Just\u0117 Jocyt\u0117 watch, there was no action to see.<\/p>\n

Jocyt\u0117 has registered her third straight DNP, seemingly falling out of Nakase\u2019s rotation as she opts to go with Hayes and Kaitlyn Chen as the backup ball handlers.<\/p>\n

Nakase said pregame that she is still trying to adjust Jocyt\u0117 to becoming a point guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you can evolve a point guard overnight,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cI 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\u2019s good to take some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Backup center Laeticia Amihere was also a healthy scratch, playing just one minute over the last five games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Valkyries star Gabby Williams said her team needed to do better at halftime.\u00a0 They did. But just barely.\u00a0\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[2356,4804,14059,5415,36930,10834,10835,5413,7234,10841,10842,5414,99,434],"class_list":["post-701178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-california","tag-golden-state-valkyries","tag-lake-county","tag-marin-county","tag-mendocino-county","tag-monterey-county","tag-napa-county","tag-north-bay","tag-northern-california","tag-santa-cruz-county","tag-solano-county","tag-sonoma-county","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}