Golden State 94, Dallas 76
By the Numbers
- Veronica Burton led the Valkyries in scoring with 22 points, seven assists and zero turnovers, shooting 8-13 (61.5%) from the field and 3-3 from the line. Burton put together her second straight game with 10+ points, 5+ assists and 0 turnovers for the first time in her career.
- Gabby Williams added 19 points, four assists, one steal, and zero turnovers in Dallas. Williams finished the first half with 12 points, 10 of which came in the second quarter.
- Kayla Thornton recorded her 11th career double-double with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Thornton also reached the 2,500 career points plateau.
- Kiah Stokes finished with seven points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
- Kaila Charles contributed nine points, four rebounds, and a team-high three steals.
- Laeticia Amihere added a team-high three blocks
- Golden State dominated inside the first half, outscoring Dallas 20-8 in the paint and shooting 11-18 (61.1%) on field goals compared to Dallas’ 5-16 (31.3%).
- The Valkyries outrebounded the Wings 25-16 in the first half, including seven rebounds from Thornton.
- The Valkyries held Dallas to a season-low 33.9 percent (21-26) shooting from the field.
- Golden State handed out a franchise-high 27 assists.
- The Valkyries have won six of its last seven road games.
- At 22 wins on the year, the Valkyries are one victory away from matching last year’s win total.
Quotes
HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:
ON VERONICA BURTON:
“Consistency, that’s huge growth for her. Number one, she's the ultimate pro on how she approaches it; constantly asking for more film, constantly asking questions, and that's her hunger to want to just be better every game. A lot of players like to be complacent, but she wants more film. She wants more information, she says, ‘I got you. You're the leader. But, I got them on the court.’ You just love players like that, coachable, humble, and they set a standard for themselves, like ‘I want to be better every single day.’ I love that. I love V [Veronica Burton]. ”
ON THE STYLE OF PLAY TONIGHT:
“We had really good spacing. When we had really good spacing, that leaves the gaps for us to get in there. It was a lot of selflessness in terms of maintaining space, because sometimes people like to ball chase or set screens just to get the ball. But I thought we did a really good job of being selfless, disciplined, and then continuing to move in the right spots.”
ON TAKEAWAYS FROM TONIGHT’S MATCHUP:
“We still weren't at our best, but I credit the stints of when we were really active, when we were pressuring the ball, when we were dictating the actions. We fouled too much tonight, so I wasn't happy with that. So I think if we can put everything together by playing harder, but also playing smarter, I think that's where I'll probably have a little bit better attitude after the game. But what I know is we could be better, and so I just want to continue to push that, be more disciplined. But I thought our energy overall was better.”
GOLDEN STATE FORWARD GABBY WILLIAMS AND GUARD VERONICA BURTON:
ON PLAYING WITH GABBY WILLIAMS:
Burton: “I think the more time that we're able to spend together on and off the court, and the more comfortable you just get with that and that experience, I think we have a really good understanding of how each other likes to play and [where] each other wants to be on the court. I think we're very similar in terms of our leadership styles, so I think we can really relate [on] that. She's just one of those players that I think can play really well with anyone. So I'm just grateful to have her here.”
ON THE SLOW START:
Burton: “I think that was probably the one lag where we could have been a little bit better, just being on the same page and helping each other. But at the end of the day, we play really good team defense, and we never want anyone to feel like they're on an island. That's our biggest thing. I'm definitely proud of us. There's always room for improvement, and there's some things that we'll watch the film back on and clean up for sure. ”
ON KAYLA THORNTON:
Williams: “She can do it all, and the types of plays that she makes are just huge momentum shifts, just feeding off that kind of energy. It was a quiet double-double, but some of the plays she made, some of the steals she had, some of the help defense she had, her running the floor, those plays are loud, and we feed off of that. So having a player like that on your team really helps a lot, especially with the kind of enthusiasm that we want to play with.”
Up Next: The Valkyries travel to Los Angeles to face the Sparks on Sunday, August 9, tipping off at 4:00 p.m. PT on ESPN, 95.7 The Game, the Audacy App, and ESPN 1320.
