Gabby Williams' 15 points lead balanced attack by Valkyries, Golden State beats Connecticut 97-70

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gabby Williams scored 15 points, Kaila Charles added 12 points and seven rebounds, and the Golden State Valkyries ran away from the Connecticut Sun for a 97-70 win on Monday night.

Williams made 4 of her first 6 shots and wound up 6 for 10 with three 3-pointers as the Valkyries (4-2) jumped out to a 17-11 lead and kept building it against the cold-shooting Sun. Veronica Burton added 11 points and six assists.

Aneesah Morrow came off the bench to contribute 11 points and 10 rebounds for Connecticut (1-7), which is four games into a season-long five-game road trip. Second-year guard Hailey Van Lith, in her first season with the team, went 2 for 7 from the floor and Saniya Rivers missed all eight of her shots.

Sun center Olivia Nelson-Ododa returned from a four-game absence with a right ankle injury and had a minutes restriction of 12.

Kayla Thornton grabbed eight rebounds for Golden State, which led by 17 at halftime. The Valkyries welcomed back Cecilia Zandalasini after she was sidelined for four games dealing with a concussion, and the forward had six points in nearly 14 minutes.

Golden State rookie Juste Jocyte, the team's first-ever draft pick selected fifth overall last year, entered the game with 4:48 left for her debut and immediately scored on a pull-up jumper and then hit a 3. It was her first game being active after she returned from playing overseas.

Sun center Brittney Griner didn't play as she has been nursing a rib injury. She needs one point to become the 18th player in WNBA history to reach 6,000 career points.

Connecticut concludes its road trip Wednesday at Portland, while the Valkyries continue a four-game homestand by hosting Indiana on Thursday.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball