SAN FRANCISCO — Momentum can vanish overnight, even for an All-Star.
Fresh off a career-best 43-point effort two nights earlier, Sparks star Kelsey Plum was held to a season-low nine points on Monday in a lopsided loss to the Golden State Valkyries.
Gabby Williams led a balanced attack with a game-high 16 points, as the Valkyries won a matchup of teams battling to stay alive in the Western Conference portion of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup chase, 78-58. Kaila Charles added 13 points, Veronica Burton had 12 and Cecilia Zandalasini scored 10 for Golden State (9-5 overall, 4-2 Commissioner’s Cup), which now trails the Las Vegas Aces and Minnesota Lynx by one game with one remaining.
Coming off her 43-point explosion in an overtime victory over the host Phoenix Mercury on Saturday night, Plum shot just 3 for 10 from the field and 1 for 4 from 3-point range before fouling out late in the game. The league’s leading scorer (26.6 ppg) totaled seven fewer points than her previous season low.
Golden State led wire-to-wire for its third straight win, building a 25-10 advantage by the end of the first quarter and a 19-point cushion by halftime. The Sparks shot just 1 for 9 from 3-point range while scoring just 26 points in the first half.
The Sparks (7-7, 3-3), who had won three in a row to stay in contention in Cup contention, finished the game at 33.3% from the field and missed 18 of their 21 3-point attempts.
The Valkyries, meanwhile, shot 7 for 21 from behind the arc and 42.4% overall.
Coming off the bench, Charles paced the Valkyries in rebounds (eight) and assists (five). Kiah Stokes added seven rebounds and two blocked shots while Kayla Thornton had four of Golden State’s 13 steals.
Rae Burrell shot 9 for 10 from the free-throw line to lead the Sparks with 13 points off the bench. Fellow reserve Cameron Brink added 10 points, Nneka Ogwumike was held to nine points and Dearica Hamby had six points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Erica Wheeler, Plum’s backcourt partner, had five assists but missed all seven of her shots, including five 3-point attempts, on a scoreless night.
Golden State made eight of its first 13 shots to build its early double-digit lead and pushed the ball inside all night for 36 points in the paint. Ogwumike missed her first three shots as the Sparks started 3 for 13 from the field and 1 for 6 from long range.
BRINK LEAVES LATE
Brink went down hard in the closing minutes and was helped to the bench with an apparent ankle injury, though Coach Lynne Roberts didn’t have immediate details other than, “she’s getting evaluated right now.” Brink walked out of the locker room postgame on her own.
WARM WELCOME
Sparks guard Kate Martin received a warm welcome back – a video tribute and rousing ovation from the sellout crowd at Chase Center – after she played the inaugural 2025 season for Golden State and started this year with the team.
She had three points, three rebounds and a pair of assists in 11 minutes.
UP NEXT
The Sparks host Minnesota on Wednesday at 7 p.m.