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The Valkyries will conclude their four-game road trip in Las Vegas, visiting the Aces on Saturday (1 p.m. PT). Saturday’s game will be the first time Head Coach Natalie Nakase and guard Kate Martin face their former team in Las Vegas since joining the Valkyries. Golden State notched a 27-point victory over the Aces at Chase Center on June 7.
Valkyries at AcesSaturday, July 12 | Tipoff: 1 p.m.WATCH: CBSLISTEN: 95.7 The Game
LAST TIME OUTVeronica Burton scored a game-high 21 points and hit a career-high five 3-pointers in the Valkyries’ 80-61 win over the Fever in Indiana on Wednesday. Burton also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out six assists and was a plus-22 in 34 minutes. With the win, the Valkyries improve to 10-9 and snap a two-game road losing streak. They also clinched the season series against the Fever with one more game remaining at Chase Center on Aug. 31. Winning the season series means Golden State secured the head-to-head tiebreaker over Indiana with the teams separated by just one game in the standings. » Full Game Recap
THIRD EXPANSION TEAM TO REACH 10 WINS IN FEWER THAN 20 GAMESThe Valkyries made history with Wednesday’s win, becoming the third WNBA expansion team in league history to reach 10 wins in fewer than 20 games. The Valkyries accomplished this feat in their 19th game of their inaugural season, joining the 1999 Minnesota Lynx (16 games) and the 1998 Detroit Shock (19 games) in exclusive company. With that monumental 10th win, Golden State has already won more games in the first season than the two most recent expansion teams combined to win in their first season (9 wins).
LAS VEGAS SCOUTING REPORTThe Las Vegas Aces broke up their championship core this past offseason, losing All-Star guard Kelsey Plum and they are seeing the results, sitting one game below .500. The Aces also recently lost their MVP A’ja Wilson, who suffered a wrist injury on Tuesday. Wilson leads Las Vegas in points (20.7 PPG), rebounds (8.7 RPG), steals (1.7 SPG) and blocks per game (2.4 BPG). The Aces do have a second All-Star, with guard Jackie Young named a reserve. Young, another first overall draft pick, ranks 13th in the league in scoring, averaging 17.2 points per game. Collectively, Las Vegas is struggling on both ends, ranking 9th out of 13 teams in both offensive (99.6 OFFRTG) and defensive rating (102.9 DEFRTG).
