{"id":467,"date":"2026-05-26T04:38:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T04:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=467"},"modified":"2026-05-26T04:38:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T04:38:55","slug":"valkyries-instant-analysis-juste-jocyte-debuts-in-blowout-victory-over-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=467","title":{"rendered":"Valkyries instant analysis: Juste Jocyte debuts in blowout victory over Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><span>SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 The Chase Center crowd rose to their feet in unison to celebrate the momentous occasion with 4:48 left in the Valkyries 97-70 victory over the Suns on Monday night. Tapped by coach Natalie Nakase a few seconds prior, rookie forward Juste Jocyte checked into her first game as a Valkyrie, 405 days after being selected No. 5 overall in the 2025 WNBA draft.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=465\">New York back in NBA Finals for first time since 1999 after beating Cleveland 130-93 to finish sweep<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The fans remained on their feet and roared louder than they had at any point in the night when Jocyte drifted to the midrange and buried a smooth lefthanded jumper from the baseline for her first two points in the WNBA.<\/p>\n<p>The 20-year-old finished the game with 5 points and and two assists in five minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Gabby Williams scored 15 points for the Valkyries, while Veronica Burton had 11 points and six assists. No starter eclipsed the 20-minute mark. Stanford alum Ashten Prechtel also made her WNBA debut, and made a 3-pointer. Kaitlyn Chen scored 10 points, her second game in a row in double figures.<\/p>\n<p><span>Connecticut, in the midst of its final season in the Northeast, has looked like a team that is already prepared to take up residence in Houston as the reborn Comets in 2027. Aneesah Morrow, one of the team\u2019s few players with long-term potential to be a contributor in the league, scored 11 points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Golden State\u2019s second round draft pick Ashlon Jackson played 14 minutes and scored six points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The game was uncompetitive by halftime, when the Valkyries led 47-30. The lead ballooned to 73-48 by the end of the third quarter.<\/p>\n<p><span>The Valkyries (4-2) will play host to Cailtin Clark and the Fever on Thursday, a rematch of Saturday\u2019s loss in Indianapolis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>Zandalasini\u2019s comeback bolsters wing depth<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>The Chase Center crowd stood and applauded with 6:52 remaining in the first quarter, welcoming Zandalasini back to the court after missing four games with a concussion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=463\">Nasdaq gets approval from SEC to list Bitcoin index options<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>She knocked down her first 3-pointer, and then drained another in the second quarter. She finished the day with six points in 14 minutes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The 30-year-old wing brings back deadeye shooting to a roster that often struggles to knock down shots. She shot 40.7% of her 3-point attempts last season, and is a career 41.1% shooter from distance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Zandalasini also provided Nakase with another option to a deep collection on the wing, checking in before Salaun or Jocyte.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Williams pops off<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Williams scored 10 early points, knocking down a few 3-pointers and dropping in a layup to get the crowd going, and then canning a smooth midrange shot to get up to double figures within five minutes. After putting up only six points against Indiana, she scored 15 points, giving her four double-figure outings in the team\u2019s first six games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Though the stats did not show it \u2014 Williams did not have a steal or block \u2014 she made her presence felt as a disruptive team defender. Digging into passing lanes, making the correct rotations agaisnt a Sun team that scored only 48 points through three quarters.<\/p>\n<p><b>Griner out<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Only one point away from a historic milestone, future Hall of Famer Brittney Griner was relegated to the bench with a rib injury on Monday night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Griner\u2019s next free throw or basket will take her to the 6,000 point milestone, a hallowed group that is inhabited by only 18 players.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The center is playing her first season with the Sun, having spent 11 seasons with PHoenix before rostering in Atlanta last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=461\">SpaceX launches its biggest, most beefed-up Starship yet on a test flight<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Juste Jocyte checks in during the fourth quarter, Gabby Williams has big offensive night<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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