Kate Martin and Veronica Burton help the Valkyries hold off the Mystics 68-67

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kate Martin scored 14 points, Veronica Burton had 10 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and the Golden State Valkyries held off the Washington Mystics 68-67 on Thursday night.

Temi Fagbenle put Golden State ahead 66-65 with 5:34 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Valkyries didn’t make their next field goal until Janelle Salaun’s layup with a minute left to cap the scoring.

After a missed 3-pointer by the Mystics with 37 seconds left, the Valkyries worked the clock down before calling a timeout with 3 seconds left on the shot clock. Salaun missed a shot in the lane and Golden State grabbed the offensive rebound before turning it over to give the Mystics another chance.

Brittney Sykes’ floater in the lane bounced off the rim as time expired.

Sonia Citron, coming off a career-high 28 points on Tuesday against Chicago, scored 16 points for Washington (13-14). Shakira Austin and Kiki Iriafen each added 10 points.

Iliana Rupert scored all 11 of her points in the first half and Fagbenle finished with 10 for Golden State (13-13). Tiffany Hayes became the 42nd player in WNBA history to play 10,000 minutes.

Golden State made 10 of 14 field goals in the first quarter, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, to take a 30-20 lead. The Valkyries scored 38 points the rest of the way.

Washington went on a 14-2 run spanning halftime to get within 46-41 on Sykes’ 3-pointer from the top of the key. The Mystics took their first lead with 7:20 left on Emily Engstler’s 3-pointer from the corner.

___

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