Golden State 95, Portland 77
By the Numbers
- Golden State posted its 30th-straight sellout, and 28th consecutive regular-season sellout on Tuesday night.
- The Valkyries broke the team record for threes in a half with 12 in the first (one away from the WNBA all-time record), and threes in a game with 18, the most made threes by any team in the league this season. The Valkyries shot 45.0 percent (18-40) from three, the second-straight game they’ve shot 45.0 percent or better from beyond the arc.
- Kayla Thornton led all scorers with 19 points and had eight rebounds, both of which tied her season highs. Thornton went 5-10 from three, marking the first time in her career she’s posted four made threes in back-to-back games after going 4-7 on May 31 against Las Vegas.
- Janelle Salaün went 6-10 (60.0 percent) from the field and had 18 points.
- Veronica Burton had a team-high nine assists to go with 10 points, and was +22 in the game.
- Kaila Charles played her 100th career game, finishing with seven points.
- Gabby Williams played her 200th career game tonight, adding eight points.
- Kaitlyn Chen scored nine points and was a perfect 2-2 from three.
- Justé Jocyté made her first two three-point attempts in the game, and finished with a season-high eight points.
- Golden State posted 35 points in the second quarter, the second-most points scored in any quarter by the team, and 56 points in the first half which is tied for the second most in any half in team history.
- The Valkyries tied their season high with 25 assists, and assisted on 16 of 18 threes.
- Commissioner’s Cup total donation to Youth UpRising: $3,000
Quotes
HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:
ON BREAKING THE FRANCHISE RECORD FOR MADE THREES WITH 18:
“I think when our defense kind of creates transition, then we can kind of flow into these open threes because it's hard to match up to us when we're maintaining space. And then also I think our offensive rebounds also generate open threes, because it's very similar to transition defense when you're matching up, so just extra effort tonight on the boards. I thought KT [Kayla Thornton] did a hell of a job leading for offensive rebounds, but also just her fight, she just kept punching, kept punching. So I think KT did a great job leading tonight.”
ON PLAYING FOR YOUTH UPRISING IN THE COMMISSIONER’S CUP:
“When you're playing for something like that, where we can help the community, that's what we're big on… You guys also know that I take this very seriously, but having a why behind that [the victory], I think that generates a little bit more energy for these games.”
ON BOUNCING BACK:
“It's a blessing that we respond really well after a loss…We hold each other accountable, whether it's player to player, or coach to player, or player to coach. We do a great job of just being honest and direct, and so I just like the fact that KT [Kayla Thornton] takes that on, and then she leads it. Not only just through talking, but she backs it up with her energy. So we need that now. We’ve just got to make sure we're consistent. So again, credit to KT for really leading us tonight.”
GOLDEN STATE FORWARDS JANELLE SALAÜN AND KAYLA THORNTON:
ON THE TEAM’S HOT START TONIGHT:
Thornton: “Just going in with the mindset of getting it done. We had a tough loss, so my thing was to just come in and set the tone on defense and rebounding, and that kind of leads to our offense…When you play good defense, when you get stops and rebound, that means you can turbo run, and your shooters can get to the corners and knock them down.”
ON TONIGHT’S THREE-POINT PERFORMANCE:
Thornton: “I mean, it's great. In Ballhalla, anytime you score, they go crazy, and I think that amps us up even more. But it goes back to our guards getting in the paint and spreading it out, and just believing that we can shoot and knock them down.”
ON HOW HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE SPEAKS ON CULTURE:
Thornton: “She [Natalie Nakase] talks to us about being selfless. That's the number one thing that we kind of stand on, playing for each other. When you do that, everything else kind of just falls into place. But when you have a group of women that just go out there and play for each other, it makes a difference. We don't have anyone out there trying to do their own and trying to get their own, but we're trying to get ours for each other, and that plays a big part.”
Up Next: The Valkyries visit Minnesota on Thursday, June 4 at 8 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. PT, airing on Amazon Prime, 95.7 The Game and The Audacy App.
