{"id":1375,"date":"2026-06-06T22:07:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T22:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1375"},"modified":"2026-06-06T22:07:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T22:07:26","slug":"valkyries-instant-analysis-golden-state-fights-hard-but-cant-close-out-aja-wilson-led-aces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1375","title":{"rendered":"Valkyries instant analysis: Golden State fights hard, but can\u2019t close out A\u2019ja Wilson-led Aces"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Six days ago, the Las Vegas Aces outclassed <\/span>the Valkyries<\/span> in front of their home crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Oakland plant-based burger joint closes Saturday<\/a><\/p>\n

Golden State came much closer to knocking them off Saturday \u2014 just not close enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Valkyries lost to Las Vegas <\/span>84-79<\/span> on Saturday, but this wasn\u2019t the Valkyries squad that got dominated last Sunday at Chase Center. They held the Aces\u2019 role players in check and made A\u2019ja Wilson and Jackie Young carry the offense almost entirely on their own.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It just wasn\u2019t enough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With a chance to tie late in the game, point guard Veronica Burton missed the second of two free throws and the Aces hit their foul shots to win the game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gabby Williams had her best game of the season as she finished with 27 points and six rebounds. Burton had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. Janelle Sala\u00fcn scored 11 points off the bench.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wilson had a monster game, finishing with 28 points and 14 rebounds . Jackie Young hit every big shot for the defending champions down the stretch, scoring 27 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NorCal native Chelsea Gray scored 12 and dished out six assists. She tied her head coach Becky Hammon on the franchise\u2019s all-time assists list.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Wilson single-handedly beat the Valkyries in the first quarter. The reigning league MVP scored 14 points in the first quarter, tying her season-high for points in a period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite opening the game 1-for-8 from the 3-point line to start the game, the Valkyries recovered in the second quarter. Williams, Thornton and Sala\u00fcn combined to score 26 points in the first half as Golden State trailed by three at halftime.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more St. Francis adds former high-profile 49ers to its coaching staff<\/a><\/p>\n

Both teams went back-and-forth throughout the fourth quarter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Veronica Burtot\u2019s driving layup with 38.3 seconds left put the Valkyries up 78-77. Las Vegas responded with a stepback 3-pointer on the following possession to put the Aces up two with 19.1 seconds remaining.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Down two, Burton was fouled on a reverse layup to the basket. But she hit one of two free throws and the Valkyries had to foul on the rebound. Young hit two more free throws to put the Aces up three.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Needing a 3-pointer to tie the game, Sala\u00fcn\u2019s contested corner 3-pointer clanked off the rim and Wilson sunk two more free throws to ice the game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Williams bounce back<\/b><\/p>\n

After registering her lowest point total of the season, Williams looked more aggressive to get her own shot on Saturday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Williams scored 10 points in the first half on 4-for-8 shooting from the field and 1-for-3 from beyond the arc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Small ball\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Starting center Kiah Stokes had another rough outing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The former Aces player drew the assignment of guarding Wilson early, but couldn\u2019t hang with the former South Carolina standout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase opted to go small, playing Thornton and Sala\u00fcn in the two frontcourt spots. The move worked out well in the first half as the duo cut the Aces\u2019 12-point first-half lead to just three at the conclusion of the second quarter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Trump issues pardon to former Republican congressman convicted of insider trading<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wilson scores 28 as Valkyries can\u2019t close out Las Vegas on road<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nValkyries instant analysis: Golden State fights hard, but can\u2019t close out A\u2019ja Wilson-led Aces - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1375\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Valkyries instant analysis: Golden State fights hard, but can\u2019t close out A\u2019ja Wilson-led Aces - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wilson scores 28 as Valkyries can\u2019t close out Las Vegas on road\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1375\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-06T22:07:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1375#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1375\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Valkyries instant analysis: Golden State fights hard, but can\u2019t close out A\u2019ja Wilson-led Aces\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-06T22:07:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1375\"},\"wordCount\":550,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1375#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/e80929304e5761ca8fe87794b3436fda.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1375#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1375\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1375\",\"name\":\"Valkyries instant analysis: Golden State fights hard, but can\u2019t close out A\u2019ja Wilson-led Aces - 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