Golden State 62, Washington 49
By the Numbers
- The win is Golden State’s fifth straight, tied for the longest-ever winning streak in franchise history (GSV won five straight from 8/24-9/4 last season). The Valkyries improve to 5-0 all-time against Washington.
- The Valkyries are one of three teams in the WNBA with 15 wins on the year.
- The 49 points allowed are not only a franchise record, but the fewest allowed in the WNBA this season. The Valkyries also held Washington to just 3-24 (12.5 percent) from three, the lowest percentage allowed by Golden State all-time.
- The Valkyries limited the Mystics to just 16 second-half points, becoming the first team since September 2, 2021 (Los Angeles at Minnesota) to allow 16 or fewer points in any half. Washington shot just 16.1 percent (5-31) and 9.1 percent (1-11) from three in the final 20 minutes.
- The Golden State bench scored 20 first-half points and 39 in the game, led by Kaitlyn Chen’s game-high 14 points on 6-9 (66.7 percent) shooting. Chen also handed out a team-best four assists.
- Kaila Charles, who played collegiately at nearby Maryland, added eight points and five rebounds.
- Tiffany Hayes scored nine points, while Janelle Salaün scored eight and had a pair of big three pointers.
- Kiah Stokes had nine rebounds, all on the defensive end, and scored six points to go with three blocks.
- The Valkyries recorded 10 steals compared to the Mystics’ one, with Laeticia Amihere, Veronica Burton, and Gabby Williams each grabbing two.
- The Valkyries held the Mystics to just seven points in the third quarter, tied for the fewest allowed in any quarter by Golden State this season. Washington shot just 18.8 percent (3-16) including 1-7 (14.3 percent) from three in the frame.
- Golden State forced 17 Washington turnovers, converting them into 14 points off turnovers, while only committing a season-low six turnovers.
Quotes
HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:
ON WHAT STOOD OUT TONIGHT:
“Turnovers that we created. We created 17 total turnovers for 14 points. That's attention to detail in terms of our defense. We just didn't follow it in the first half, so [it was] really good for them to acknowledge it and hold each other accountable. As the coaching staff, we hit them with a couple clips that really showed we weren't following it, but we have coachable players, I'm super grateful for that. I'd say the turnovers and taking care of the ball, because Washington is a hell of a defensive team. They are scrappy, they have activity, they communicate, and they play so hard. So great job in terms of only five turnovers for us tonight.”
ON KIAH STOKES:
“Yeah, definitely her work ethic. She’s been putting a lot of time in with Kasib Powell. They're building this type of relationship, where it's like brother, sister, you could see that they're connected, you could see sometimes they're just looking at each other, facial expressions are sometimes enough in terms of communication. So it's really cool to see that, and obviously the trust that everyone has when Kiah is facing the floor. We're just throwing it out and she's ready to shoot. Credit to her teammates for finding her, because that's what she's probably going to do. She's going to give credit to her teammates, but it's Kiah’s hard work. Getting a ton of reps, and then working just on seeing it go through, holding her follow through. She's done an amazing job. She led us in threes, she and Ja [Janelle Salaun] tied, so that's incredible.”
ON THE DEFENSIVE PROWESS:
“We've been talking a lot about our defense and how we have to rely on our defense every night, and so in the second half we locked in on the game plan…We allowed 22 paint points in the first half, and then it took another step. They communicated, they were earlier in their shifts, they ball pressured, and so we kept them to eight in the paint. I was really proud of them for really locking in on the game plan, because we can control that…I thought Kaitlyn Chen, and V [Veronica Burton] and Tip [Tiffany Hayes], I thought they did an amazing job, and Kai [Kaila Charles], the discipline to get back in there, credit to them, because that's a discipline step that we took forward.”
GOLDEN STATE GUARDS KAITLYN CHEN AND KAILA CHARLES
ON TAKEAWAYS FROM TONIGHT:
Charles: “We’re enjoying the moment and being present, but also continuing to build every single day. We’re emphasizing the things that we can control, like defense, energy, effort, and we just want to get better every single game. Today wasn't pretty, but it was a good way to learn. We'd rather learn from a win than a loss, and I think the most important thing was us sticking together through adversity, through missing shots, through calls that didn't go our way, and it's showing our growth. We're just going to continue to stack the days.”
ON BENCH’S SUCCESS:
Charles: “I just think our trust in each other. We don't really look at first unit, second unit. We just believe in everybody, and we always just come in trying to contribute, bring energy, and just be positive, and everybody does tha…We just continue to lift each other up, and it shows in the court.”
ON DEFENSIVE CONFIDENCE:
Chen: “Our defense is something that's all effort and sort of a mental thing, and so it's something that you can control, and we take pride in our defense. It's something that we put all our focus into every game, and if we can't score, they can't score.”
Up Next: The Valkyries visit Toronto to take on the Tempo for the first time ever, tipping off at 4:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday, July 8 on KPIX, KOVR, and the Audacy App.
