Golden State 83, Toronto 75
By the Numbers
- The win is Golden State’s sixth straight, the longest-ever winning streak in franchise history, and also marks the first franchise victory over the Toronto Tempo.
- Janelle Salaün led the Valkyries in scoring with a career-high 26 points, six rebounds, and one steal, shooting 7-10 (70.0 percent) from the field and 5-6 (83.3 percent) from beyond the arc in just over 23 minutes of action. Salaün was a perfect 3-3 from deep in the fourth quarter.
- Kayla Thornton recorded 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds while shooting 4-6 (66.7 percent) from the field, 3-5 (60.0 percent) from three, and 4-of-4 from the line.
- Kaitlyn Chen added 16 points, tying her career high for made field goals in a game with seven. Chen also added three assists and one steal.
- Veronica Burton contributed a team-high six assists while adding six points and two steals.
- Golden State went on a 22-6 run in the second quarter with 30 total points, highlighted by back-to-back-to-back three pointers by Gabby Williams, Cecilia Zandalisini and Thornton.
- Golden State posted 52 bench points, one away from tying the team’s all-time record.
- The Valkyries limited Tempo guard Marina Mabrey, who came into the contest averaging 21.1 PPG, to just 11.
- Golden State forced a franchise-high 20 turnovers.
Quotes
HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:
ON TONIGHT’S TAKEAWAYS:
“Playing through adversity has been the key. The last two games, specifically, we didn't start out really well. The second unit came to life again, so credit to them for staying ready. That to me is the biggest takeaway right now…We need everybody. We picked up the model from the Warriors of strength in numbers, because our bench has been doing a fantastic job stepping up, but I also know our starters played really really well…So I think it's adjusting, everyone staying ready when their number is called, and us celebrating anyone when they have a hot night. I think that's really key for us.”
ON JANELLE SALAÜN’S PERFORMANCE:
“She just has this fighting mentality that she always wants to bring her best, and she always wants to kill the other team, whether it's defending, rebounding, hitting big shots, or attacking. Ja [Janelle Salaün] could do it all, and credit to her teammates for finding her and creating. She and Kaitlyn [Chen] created a play on the fly, and they just kind of kept with it. It's Ja who's making fantastic space in the floor shots, but it's her teammates that are finding her, so I'd say collective effort and back to strength in numbers [being] key for us.”
ON SLOWING DOWN THE TEMPO:
“They attacked what our coverages were showing, so I think Sandy [Brondello] does a great job of making adjustments, but then we then also countered that, and so just a good job in terms of our players adjusting to their adjustments on the fly. It also takes a lot of communication, especially in a loud arena like the Tempo have. They have a great crowd here, so just a good job of our players sticking together, not looking around or not getting distracted. I thought they huddled really well, and they stayed on the same page, both offensively and defensively.”
GOLDEN STATE FORWARDS JANELLE SALAÜN AND KAYLA THORNTON:
ON WINNING ON THE ROAD:
Thornton: “I think we're learning a lot. I think we're learning how to play through adversity. I think we're learning how to find our own energy. I think we're learning that it's going to take each and every one of us each night to bring something. We might have nights where we don't shoot well, but what we can tip our hats off to is defense, and I think that's been the key for these past three games. We've played three great teams, and I think our main focus has been defense and allowing the offense to come to us.”
ON TONIGHT’S WIN:
Thornton: “It's a great team win. We win these games because we have a strong depth. Our bench players, I don’t like calling them bench players, but our other group, they do a tremendous job from Ja [Janelle Salaün], KC [Kaitlyn Chen], Kai [Kaila Charles], LA [Laeticia Amihere], it just flows. I think they do a great job of coming in and doing what they have to do, so it's not too much on us. It's a great team win, and we’re just going to continue to build. We still have a lot of growth that we need to learn from, but I mean, right now we're handling business.”
ON HER THREE-POINT PERFORMANCE:
Salaün: “I think what gets us going is our defense. We were doing a great job [defending]. Even though, at the end, they were also scoring, we have this mindset of fighting, we’re all fighters, all of us, and that's what gets me going, personally.”
Up Next: The Valkyries visit Connecticut to take on the Sun this Friday, July 10, tipping off at 4:30 p.m. PT exclusively on ION and the Audacy App.
