Valkyries blow out Mystics, cushion playoff spot lead

The Golden State Valkyries wasted little time on Saturday setting the tone in the first game of a pivotal, five-game homestand with their 99-62 rout of Washington in San Francisco.

Golden State (20-18) gave up the game's first basket -- a Sug Sutton 3-pointer one minute in -- and it was the only time the Valkyries trailed.

A pair of subsequent 8-0 runs in the opening period powered Golden State to a double-digit point lead that the Valkyries only continued to grow.

Veronica Burton, Golden State's leading scorer on the season, since Kayla Thornton was lost to a knee injury last month, notched all 15 of her points in the first half. She added five assists and five rebounds, helping the Valkyries build a 29-point lead by intermission.

The lopsided margin allowed Golden State coach Natalie Nakase to limit her starters in the second half, facing a key second-half of the weekend back-to-back with Indiana visiting on Sunday.

The distribution of playing time resulted in five Valkyries scoring in double-figures, led by Janelle Saluan's 20 points. Carla Leite matched her career-high with 19 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the floor coming of the bench.

Laeticia Amihere added another 11 points in reserve duty, while Kaila Charles finished with 16 points for the Valkyries.

Golden State doubled up Washington (16-24) from 3-point distance, with Salaun's 4-of-7 pacing the Valkyries to a 12-of-31 effort from beyond the arc. The Mystics shot just 6-of-25 from outside, part of an overall woeful 23-of-64 from the field.

Sutton led Washington with 17 points and accounted for half of the Mystics 3-pointers, going 3-of-5. Her efforts were hardly enough to help Washington avoid a sixth consecutive loss, nor prevent the Mystics from falling in a four-game sweep to close the season series with the fledgling Valkyries.

Saturday's win was the first decided by more than five points.

Lucy Olsen came off the bench to score 13 points for Washington in 20 minutes. Sonia Citron added 11 points as the Mystics continued to lose ground in the playoff chase.

They are 10th in the WNBA standings and the last team still alive for a postseason bid but fell five games behind the Valkyries with the loss.