Kaitlyn Chen made her defender lose a shoe with a crossover move and made one of the Valkyries’ few 3-pointers in their 92-73 loss to the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Sunday. Chen (11 points) was one of four Valkyries to score in double figures and made one of their five 3-pointers as Golden State shot just 5-for-30 from behind the arc. The Aces had five players in double figures led by Jackie Young’s 21 points, A’ja Wilson’s 19 points and nine rebounds and 15 points and nine assists from Chelsea Gray. Golden State trailed by as many as 28 points in the loss, their largest deficit of the season.

VALKYRIES BEGIN THE GAME MAKING SEVEN STRAIGHT 2-POINTERS
The Valkyries opened the game 7-for-7 from inside the arc, including making four straight 2-pointers during an 8-0 run. Cecilia Zandalasini, fresh off a career-high 23-point outing against the Minnesota Lynx, accounted for three of those baskets during Golden State’s run. Unfortunately for the Valkyries, as great as they were inside the arc, they struggled mightily beyond it, as they missed each of their seven 3-point attempts in the opening quarter. 

CHEN MAKES LONE 3-POINTER FOR VALKS IN FIRST HALF
Tiffany Hayes opened the second quarter with two straight buckets and Kaitlyn Chen added the Valkyries’ first 3-pointer of the game as a 7-0 run gave them a 24-23 lead. Chen’s 3-pointer ended up being the Valkyries’ only triple of the first half as they went 1-for-15 from three and missed all 12 of their contested attempts from distance. Meanwhile, the Aces made eight 3-pointers in the first half — Jackie Young (3 3PM), Chelsey Gray (3 3PM) and Jewel Loyd (2 3PM) each made more threes than Golden State over that span. Golden State trailed by 20 points at halftime and, falling further behind in the third quarter, reached its largest deficit of the season (28 points). 

CHEN CROSSES DEFENDER OUT OF HER SHOES
Kaitlyn Chen had arguably the most electric play of the night for the Valkyries, crossing her defender literally out of her shoes. Chen’s shifty left-to-right crossover dribble made six-time All-Star guard Jewel Loyd’s right shoe fall off her foot as she attempted to recover. By that point, Chen had already vacated the premises and launched a floater over the help defender and softly into the net.