The New York Liberty opened their seven-game homestand with a flat 87-70 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on May 21, 2026, a game that turned early and never really changed shape. New York had not played in a week, but neither had Golden State, and the break did not slow the visitors down. The Valkyries hit 5 of 10 from 3-point range in the first quarter and built a 25-15 lead after one period.
The Liberty briefly punched back in the second quarter when Rebekah Gardner drilled a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two points, but Golden State steadied itself and led by eight at halftime. New York never fully recovered. The Valkyries outscored the Liberty 21-12 in the third quarter and pushed the margin to 20 points before Chris DeMarco sent Han Xu into the game for the first time with 6:48 left in the fourth quarter.
Breanna Stewart finished with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds, while Jonquel Jones added 16 points and eight rebounds. Even with that production, the Liberty shot just 6-for-24 from deep and could not match Golden State’s perimeter volume, as the Valkyries finished 13 of 35 from behind the arc. Golden State cooled after the opening burst, going 2-for-10 from 3-point range in the second quarter, but the early damage had already been done.
That mattered even more because the Liberty had beaten the Valkyries in back-to-back games one year earlier, when Golden State entered the league as an expansion team. This time, the matchup belonged to the visitors from the start. Stewart said not much went right and pointed to the first quarter as the moment the game tilted, saying the Liberty gave up too many 3s to a good shooting team and never got back into it. Jones called the defeat disappointing and said it was still early, adding that the team is still learning and does not expect to be in playoff mode yet.
For the Liberty, the loss was not just a rough night; it was a reminder that their margin for error is already thin at the start of a long homestand. If they want this stretch to matter, they will need to stop giving away quarters like the first one.
