Valkyries vs. Wings: Cecilia Zandalasini Scores 22 as Golden State Routs Dallas in First Round Game 1

Last year, the Golden State Valkyries had to play their home playoff game 50 miles away in San Jose because a tennis event had already booked Chase Center. On Sunday night, they finally got Ballhalla for the postseason, and they treated it like a housewarming party with a scoreboard.

The final was 104-80 in Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round series, and the second-seeded Valkyries had it wrapped up by halftime. Cecilia Zandalasini led the way with 22 points, Tiffany Hayes came off the bench for 21, and Gabby Williams chipped in 20 against the Dallas Wings. According to the AP, it was the most points the second-year franchise has ever scored. Paige Bueckers was brilliant for Dallas with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, but she was the only Wing who really showed up.

A Coin Flip Turned Into a Blowout

The first quarter was a genuine fight. The game featured six lead changes, Dallas led by as many as four, and Golden State only held a 21-20 edge after one quarter. Bueckers was on her way to a 17-point first half, and for one quarter this looked like it might be a long night for the home team.

Then the second quarter happened, and it was not close. At the 7:23 mark, Kayla Thornton buried a 3 for a 32-24 lead and celebrated with an arm pump as Dallas burned a timeout. Not long after, the Valkyries ripped off an 11-0 run that turned a 38-28 lead into a 49-28 laugher. The quarter ended 37-11 in Golden State's favor, the Valkyries were 10 of 20 from deep before halftime, and the scoreboard read 58-31 at the break.

Natalie Nakase liked what she saw on the defensive end. "When we're awake we're ferocious on defense," the Golden State coach said.

Early in the third, an 8-0 Valkyries run made it 66-33. Golden State led 85-56 after three and pushed its lead as high as 36. Dallas made the final score look a bit more respectable with a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter, but by then the outcome had been settled for a long time.

Zandalasini Was Lethal

Zandalasini needed just 16 minutes to do her damage. She shot 7 of 11 from the field, 4 of 5 from 3-point range and 4 of 5 from the line, and finished a plus-17. Nearly half of her shots came from deep, and she missed exactly one of them. That is not a hot hand. That is a flamethrower.

Hayes was the spark off the bench, scoring 21 in 19 minutes on 7-of-10 shooting with three 3-pointers and four assists. She also made all four of her free throws and did not commit a turnover, which is about as clean a playoff line as a reserve can post. Williams was the steadying force, going 8 of 16 with four assists and a game-high plus-27. Veronica Burton added 10 points and five assists while going 2 for 2 from deep, Thornton had 10, Kaitlyn Chen chipped in eight, and even Kiah Stokes, who scored just two points, grabbed eight rebounds and was a plus-20.

As a team, Golden State hit 18 of 36 from 3-point range and committed only five turnovers. That is a cheat code in the playoffs.

The home crowd had plenty to do with it, too. "Ballhalla's part of us," Nakase said of the fans.

Bueckers Had No Help

Bueckers was almost perfect. She shot 9 of 10 from the field and 2 of 2 from deep, added six rebounds, and was 7 of 8 with 17 points by halftime, according to the AP. It was basically a solo album with no features.

The rest of Dallas went cold. Jessica Shepard went 0 for 7. Awak Kuier went 1 of 5. Arike Ogunbowale scored 10 but needed six free throws to get there, shooting 2 of 7 from the field. Maddy Siegrist and Kitija Laksa each scored 11, with Laksa hitting three 3s. Dallas went just 6 of 20 from 3-point range.

The Turning Point

The 11-0 run in the second quarter. Dallas was down 38-28 and still in it. Then Golden State poured in 11 straight points in about a minute and a half, and the Wings never recovered. That stretch turned a manageable deficit into a 21-point hole and set up a 37-11 quarter that decided the game.

Stats That Matter

• 18 of 36: Golden State's 3-point shooting, 50% on high volume.
• 37-11: The Valkyries' second-quarter margin.
• 5: Golden State's total turnovers. Dallas had 10.
• 9 of 10: Bueckers' shooting. The rest of the Wings went 19 of 50.
• 36: Golden State's largest lead.

What It Means

The Valkyries lead the series 1-0. Game 2 is Wednesday in Dallas, and if a Game 3 is necessary, it will be Friday back at Chase Center.

This was a matchup of two teams that both won seven of their last eight regular-season games. Golden State has now beaten Dallas in all four meetings this season, including a 3-0 sweep in the regular season. The Valkyries are on a two-game winning streak that started Thursday in Los Angeles, where they rallied for a 76-75 win to lock up the No. 2 seed. Golden State finished the regular season 32-12, while Dallas went 27-17 and earned the seventh seed. Now the Wings will try to stave off elimination at home, and they will need a lot more than Bueckers to do it.

Closing Take

Golden State's first home playoff game in Ballhalla went about as well as a team could script it. The Valkyries made 18 3-pointers, scored their most points ever and sent 18,064 fans home happy. Dallas, meanwhile, has to figure out how to give Bueckers some help before Wednesday, or this series ends in two. Shepard and Kuier combined to go 1 of 12, and Dallas cannot win a playoff game with two starters shooting like that, no matter how good Bueckers is.

Call it a welcome-to-the-playoffs moment, except the Valkyries were the ones doing the welcoming, and Dallas was the guest who showed up to the party one player deep.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press.