Golden State 90, Indiana 88
By the Numbers
- The victory brings Golden State to 5-2 on the year, tied for the best record in the WNBA.
- The Valkyries posted their 28th consecutive sellout with 18,064 fans on Thursday, and have welcomed over 500,000 fans through the gates of Ballhalla dating back to last year.
- Veronica Burton scored a season-high 25 points, and was 10-12 (83.3 percent) from the line.
- Janelle Salaün scored 19 points on 7-12 (58.3 percent) shooting. Salaün also added a season-high seven rebounds.
- Gabby Williams posted 19 points to go with six rebounds and a season-best six assists.
- Justé Jocyté made her first field goal attempt of the game on a three pointer, and added two assists.
- Kiah Stokes added four blocks.
- Golden State posted a franchise-high 11 blocks, led by Burton’s career-high five blocks.
- The Valkyries had 24 assists on 31 made baskets, with nine players recording an assist.
- Golden State had a season-high 42 points in the paint.
- The Valkyries defense held Caitlin Clark to just five points in the second half on 1-6 (16.7 percent) shooting.
- Golden State is now 3-0 all-time against the Fever at home.
Quotes
HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:
ON VERONICA BURTON’S LEADERSHIP:
“I think V’s [Veronica Burton] leadership really took a big leap today. I felt she really controlled the tempo, number one, she started off just attacking, and attacking was part of the game plan. Credit to Kasib Powell, it was his game plan. We followed it to a tee. There are times where we talked about attacking, and there were times about staying composed, and she was composed and fearless every moment. In terms of the defensive end, she was just like, let me make sure we're organized, we got the matchup we wanted, and I thought she did an amazing job. Defending without fouling was also another key, and she just has this great timing with her hands. It’s also her body position, but I don’t want to give away all V’s secrets. Just incredible timing and footwork that she has, and I'm very proud of her.”
ON CLOSING OUT THE WIN:
“Were getting used to our atmosphere, we’re taking in Ballhalla…It was amazing. So thank you, Ballhalla. But tonight you could see our team really stuck together. The ebbs and flows of the game, we stuck together. We stayed composed, I thought everyone did their role tonight and everyone gave max effort. From the bench, to the starters, to our players who weren't even dressed out. I could hear them, I could feel them, and I think that really is special about this group. You can see that love and care every second, and we needed it every second of this game.”
ON COMPETITION WITHIN THE LEAGUE:
“Everyone's a rival in my eyes. I think that's a good thing. I think it's great that everyone comes, whether it's Indiana, or Vegas coming up. I want it loud, I want the boos and the cheers and ups and the downs. We want all 14 to be rivals now, that just helps us build and prepare for the long season. What I saw tonight was instead of splitting, they came together in those moments. So give me 14 rivals, it's good for the game too.”
GOLDEN STATE GUARD VERONICA BURTON AND FORWARD JANELLE SALAÜN:
ON DICTATING THE PACE:
Burton: “Yeah, I think we were super intentional about how we were coming out and not waiting for them to punch first or waiting for things to happen. I think we went and made things happen on both sides.”
ON DEFENSE ALONGSIDE KIAH STOKES:
Burton: “It's awesome when you have a back line. I think it allows us to really trust in our ball pressure, because at the end of the day, having such high ball pressure leads to us getting a lead. Knowing that she's [Kiah Stokes] got our back and all of our bigs, and we have incredible shot blockers on our team.”
ON KEYS TO THE VALKYRIES’ EARLY SUCCESS:
Burton: “I think approaching each game with that winning mindset and the attention to detail of whatever game plan our staff puts in front of us. I think so much time and preparation goes into what they do, and a lot of time preparation goes into us. I think being able to really all come together as a unit and the buy-in is incredible, and you see it like every single night. It's somewhat new, it's a different rotation, and we just have so much buy-in and so much trust in one another, and that makes it fun, genuinely it's fun. We support each other, we ride for each other, but it's a big shout out to our coaching staff as well, because they give us all the information. They really give us the answers to the test, and it's on us to execute.”
Up Next: The Valkyries take on the reigning-champion Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, May 31 at 12:30 pm PT, airing on NBC, 95.7 The Game, and the Audacy App.
