Leite, Salaun lead Valkyries over Sparks 82-73
LOS ANGELES — Carla Leite scored 19 points, fellow rookie Janelle Salaun had 18, and Kayla Thornton added 14 points and 10 rebounds to help the Golden State Valkyries beat the Los Angeles Sparks 82-73 on Friday night.
Salaun grabbed eight rebounds and Leite made 7 of 10 from the field. Veronica Burton added 12 points and five steals for the Valkyries (2-1).
Expansion Golden State, which beat Washington 76-74 on Wednesday, has won consecutive games for the first time in franchise history.
Thornton made a floater with 6:43 to play that gave Golden State a 73-58 lead but the Valkyries went scoreless for the next five-plus minutes. Kelsey Plum hit a 3-pointer and Dearica Hamby scored the final five points in a 10-0 run before Thornton made three free throws with 1:33 remaining that made it 76-68.
Hamby led Los Angeles (1-3) with 25 points, Plum scored 16 and Odyssey Sims had 13.
The Sparks have lost three games in a row since beating Golden State 84-67 in the season opener.
Sims hit a 3-pointer that gave the Sparks a nine-point lead with 2:11 remaining in the first period. They missed their next 15 field-goal attempts and committed six turnovers as Golden State went on a 26-1 run that gave the Valkyries a 42-26 lead when Temi Fagbenle made a layup with 2:59 left until halftime.
Up next
Valkyries visit New York on Tuesday, and Sparks host Chicago on Sunday.
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