Golden State 82, Indiana 90
By the Numbers
- Kaitlyn Chen scored a career-high 18 points on 7-11 (63.6 percent) shooting. The guard was Golden State’s leading scorer in the second quarter with nine points, a career high in any quarter for Chen.
- Tiffany Hayes scored a season-high 19 points, and was a perfect 2-2 from three-point range.
- Veronica Burton added 17 points, her fifth time in double figures this season, and added three assists and a pair of blocks. Burton also went 7-8 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line.
- Kayla Thornton added 10 points and went 3-3 from the line to give Golden State four players in double figures.
- The Valkyries got 43 bench points, with Chen and Hayes combining for 37.
- Golden State forced 19 Indiana turnovers, the most by a Valkyries’ opponent this season.
- The Valkyries recorded nine steals, led by Gabby Williams’ four.
Quotes
HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:
ON INDIANA’S PERFORMANCE IN THE SECOND HALF:
“They were more physical than us in the second half. It kind of dictated a little bit more of our flow, but I thought we did a great job of still navigating the matchups that we wanted. Unfortunately, we just missed. We were aggressive in our actions. I felt we got downhill, we got to the spots we had. I think we had some quality looks, especially towards the end. The ball just didn’t fall in.”
ON TAKEAWAYS FROM THE ROAD TRIP:
“There's still a lot of things that we can clean up. I did tell them that I was proud of them. They did a good job, I think, in the second quarter. I thought Tip [Tiffany Hayes] and Kaitlyn [Chen] did a great job coming off the bench, they showed a lot of life. I felt like their legs definitely were a little bit more fresh. They had 19 and 18, so seeing their quality shots, I thought they did a really good job, even just playing off of each other. Definitely could clean some things up, and I can be better, possibly with little quicker subs. I can do that.”
ON THE PACE OF TONIGHT’S GAME:
“They have a fast pace. We knew that too. We talked about it. We knew we were going to be in for a track meet. That's why our defense, we needed it to be a little bit higher. We needed to be more sound and connected. Just a couple times, I felt like one or two possessions for us offensively, we just didn't come down and execute, and those are things we can definitely clean up.”
GOLDEN STATE GUARDS KAITLYN CHEN AND TIFFANY HAYES:
ON WHAT WORKED TONIGHT:
Chen: “I feel like we did a good job of just pacing the floor and attacking them off the dribble. Tip [Tiffany Hayes] did a great job of that too.”
ON TAKEAWAYS GOING INTO THE NEXT MATCHUP:
Hayes: “Just coming into focus from the jump. I think our defense is our bread and butter, and 90 points is too much for any team. For us, I think we better go back to the drawing board and fix the little things, because it is the little things; and it's us, it's no one else.”
Up Next: The Valkyries return home to host Connecticut on Monday, May 25 at 7 p.m. PT, airing on KPIX+, KMAX, 95.7 The Game, and the Audacy App.
