Valkyries Secure Win in Semifinal Opener Against Aces

In the first game of a best-of-five semifinal series, the Golden State Valkyries emerged victorious over the defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces, with a 71-60 win. This victory gave them a 1-0 lead in the series.

A’ja Wilson, the reigning WNBA MVP, contributed 24 points but had only four rebounds. This was a match in which Golden State dominated the rebound battle. The Valkyries outperformed Las Vegas, who shot just 33.7% from the field. Gabby Williams led the charge, scoring 25 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and providing five assists.

In response to the defeat, Aces head coach Becky Hammon critiqued her team’s performance, expressing a blend of room for improvement and optimism for the series ahead. Hammon described the game as one of their poorest showings of the season, suggesting the team lacked hustle. She pointed out that rebound execution was a major issue despite prior discussions on the subject.

I thought that was one of our more atrocious games of the season. I think we shot ourselves in the foot and got outhustled, Hammon stated. Notably, Jewell Loyd of the Aces suffered a lower leg injury during the game.

The Valkyries made their mark by outrebounding the Aces 52-25. Williams excelled, while Kiah Stokes stood out with a game-high 14 rebounds, and Kayla Thornton contributed 11 rebounds.

During the regular season, the Aces were tied with the Indiana Fever for seventh in rebounding averages at 33.4 per game. The Valkyries were close behind, ranking ninth with 33.3 per game.

Looking ahead, Hammon noted the mixed aspects of the situation: Good news is we played like [expletive] and only lost by 10. So dissect that however you want. Las Vegas is set to attempt a comeback in Game 2 scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 9:30 p.m. ET.

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