Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams reached a career milestone in a 92-81 win against the Toronto Tempo on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Williams scored her 2,000th career point late in the fourth quarter, when she found a sliver through the defense and drove to the basket for a layup, assisted by Tiffany Hayes.
Advertisement
Williams made the field goal with 1:34 left in the game as she put the Valkyries ahead 89-78. She finished the game with 10 points, seven rebounds and a steal. She shot 44% from the field, shooting 4-for-9.
The Valkyries nabbed back-to-back wins, completing a season sweep against the Toronto Tempo, and improves to 21-9 on the season. They’ve been led in scoring by Williams all season long, who is averaging a team-high 14.9 points per game. She also leads the team in steals per game with a 1.6 average per contest.
Valkyries go down early, strong second half to pull away
Golden State had to lodge a comeback in their matchup with the Tempo after going down by double digits in the first half. The Valkyries faced a 13-point deficit having went down 38-25 with 6:22 in the second quarter after Tempo forward Laura Juskaite made a 25-foot three-point jumper, assisted by Maria Conde.
Advertisement
The Valkyrie found their footing. As their identity goes, it started with defense. They went on a 15-4 run to end the quarter, going into the halftime break just down a point, 42-41, after a 24-foot 3-point jumper from Janelle Salaun, assisted by Hayes.
Salaun finished with a team-high 21 points off the bench. She shot 8-of-12 from the field and showed why she’s one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, striking 4-of-6 from deep.
Golden State had a massive second half during which it outscored Toronto 51-39 to take the victory. Kayla Thornton led all Valkyrie starters with 20 points. Hayes and Veronica Burton each had 12 points. Burton added eight rebounds and seven assists.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Golden State Valkyries’ Gabby Williams gets 2,000th-point in win vs. Toronto Tempo
