Storm finally find way to beat expansion Valkyries

It was dicey, but the Storm rectified themselves on Wednesday afternoon.

The Storm bested the Golden State Valkyries 67-58 in front of a sellout crowd of 12,500 in the expansion team’s first visit to Climate Pledge Arena.

The Storm faced the Valkyries twice at Chase Center, both times upended by the new team’s aggressive front foot and packing-the-paint tactics.

“Our group understands that even in the first game at Golden State, we didn’t play well,” Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said before the game. “We got that game back to two possessions later in the game. Second game just they outplayed us. Now we have an opportunity to rectify the things that we need to.”

The Storm lost 76-70 to the Valkyries on June 14, before being hammered 84-57 by them on June 29 in what Quinn described as the team’s “worst game of the season.” They shot 27.0% from the field in the second game — their fourth lowest in franchise history. It was the team’s lowest scoring performance in over three years, dating to a 68-51 loss to the Dallas Wings on June 3, 2022.

Wednesday’s game all came down to a redistribution of energy, a theme Quinn harped on pregame, and it paid off.

“Energy is neither created nor destroyed; it exists,” Quinn said. “You have a choice to choose good energy or bad energy, and I think that’s where we start, by choosing how we want to appropriately approach this game, and we have to have good energy.”

It was a gritty and defense-minded first half, knotted 31-31 at the buzzer with nine lead changes and no greater than a five-point lead for either team. The Storm kept Valkyries All-Star forward Kayla Thornton to just four points on 1-for-4 shooting and guard Tiffany Hayes to zero. It was the Valkyries’ lowest scoring first half this season.

“Our energy never felt anything but positive,” Quinn added after the game.

“The energy felt connected and strong, and again, the resiliency and resolve always felt strong as well. It’s a choice what type of energy you want to bring to the environment. I thought everyone chose correctly today.”

Erica Wheeler’s three-point pullup gave the Storm a 34-31 advantage early in the third quarter and helped them maintain the lead for the rest of the game. Wheeler had 11 points with 4-for-8 shooting in the third quarter and 15 points overall.

The Storm held the Valkyries to a season-low point performance and ended with a nine-point lead, the largest margin of the game.

“The resolve was there,” Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike said post-game. “We wanted to make sure that we won, and we won well. With each possession, with each quarter, our number one goal today was to win the game.”

Despite a scoreless third quarter, 10-time All-Star Ogwumike tallied a game-leading 22 points with eight rebounds and one assist. She moved into sixth on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list with 6,896 points.

Fellow All-Star Skylar Diggins reached over 1,000 points in a Storm jersey (1,001) after a driving bank jump shot less than two minutes into the game. Ogwumike also reached the 1,000-point mark after a driving layup less than three minutes into the second quarter.

Storm forward and first-time All-Star selection Gabby Williams had an off night offensively, with just four points on 2-for-9 shooting. She stood out on defense though with seven rebounds.

Up next: The Storm are officially into the second half of the season. They will break for All-Star weekend and return to play on Tuesday at home against the Dallas Wings (6-16).