Gabby Williams' Valkyries miss 10-win streak milestone
Gabby Williams and the Golden State Valkyries saw a potential 10-game winning streak slip away Monday night, falling 90-82 to the Washington Mystics at a sold-out Chase Center despite second-year guard Kaitlyn Chen's career night of 20 points off the bench in a crushing late collapse. The home loss ended a nine-game surge just before the All-Star break and denied Golden State a landmark win in front of 18,064 fans.
Key Takeaways
- The Valkyries blew a nine-point fourth-quarter lead and fell 90-82 to Washington at Chase Center.
- Kaitlyn Chen scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting in a career night off the bench.
- Gabby Williams scored 18 points with two late threes in Saturday's 74-69 win that made it nine straight.
- Kiki Iriafen had 23 points and 12 rebounds as Washington closed on a 14-3 run.
- Golden State still enters the All-Star break third in the WNBA after winning nine of its last 10.
What happened to Gabby Williams and the Valkyries?
Two nights after Gabby Williams hit two key 3-pointers over the final six minutes and finished with 18 points in a 74-69 win over Washington, Golden State could not finish the job for win No. 10.
The Valkyries overcame a low-scoring first half and led by nine midway through the fourth. Then the Mystics ripped off a 14-3 run, capped by an Iriafen basket that put Washington ahead 82-80. Golden State could not buy a bucket after that, and Washington sealed the road stunner at the free-throw line.
"Usually we've been good in those situations because we talk about time and score, but we have to talk about not fouling and not giving up threes and maintaining that lead," coach Natalie Nakase said. "Unfortunately we just didn't do that."
How did Kaitlyn Chen's career night unfold?
Chen gave Golden State its biggest spark off the bench. The former Connecticut standout scored nine points to open the fourth and pushed the lead to nine with 4:44 left on an acrobatic layup.
"She was fearless tonight," Nakase said of Chen's rim attacks and reads. Kayla Thornton added 15 points and Veronica Burton had 12. Still, Burton said not enough Valkyries showed up for the full game: "They played until the end and we didn't."
For Washington, Sonia Citron scored 17 points with six assists, while Iriafen and Lauren Betts punished Golden State's smaller frontcourt inside. Chen later called the final stretch "four minutes of rough basketball" and said the team would bounce back.
Why does the missed milestone matter now?
The loss snapped a nine-game winning streak and spoiled a chance to enter the All-Star break on a historic 10-game run. Even so, the Valkyries remain third in the league standings and have won nine of their last 10, with one of the easier second-half schedules ahead.
Nakase took blame for execution after timeouts and said she must "teach quicker." For more Celebrity Breaking News covering stars across sports and entertainment, follow BlasterPost's latest updates as Golden State resets after the break.
Full details of Monday's collapse are also reported by The Mercury News.