Golden State 96, Toronto 79
By the Numbers
- The Valkyries drew their 37th regular-season sellout and 38th consecutive sellout on Sunday night.
- The game was played on the Chase Freedom Custom Court, the first-ever Valkyries’ custom court and the only one dropped in the WNBA this season thus far. For every Valkyries shot made on August 2nd and 4th, Chase Freedom will donate $1,000 to the Golden State Community Foundation to support youth development and education across the Bay Area. Sunday’s game generated a $49,000 donation after 33 field goals and 16 free throws were made.
- Janelle Salaün scored 24 points on 9-15 (60.0 percent) shooting from the field and 4-9 (44.4 percent) from deep. Salaün is averaging 25.0 points against the Tempo after scoring a career-high 26 in the road win over Toronto on July 8.
- Kiah Stokes was a career-best +30 on the night, posting eight points, 11 rebounds and five blocks with zero turnovers.
- Tiffany Hayes scored 15 points, passing Hall of Famer and former teammate Swin Cash (5,119) for 28th on the all-time scoring list, and now has 5,128 career points. Hayes also added four assists and a game-high three steals.
- Cecilia Zandalasini finished with a career-high five assists along with seven points. Zandalasini shot 2-5 (40.0 percent) from the field.
- Veronica Burton scored 17 points and added six assists with just one turnover. Burton shot 3-4 (75.0 percent) from deep and 6-10 (60.0 percent) from the field.
- The Valkyries hit 10 3-pointers in the first half, two shy of their all-time record and three shy of the WNBA record.
- Golden State set a franchise record with 26 assists. Burton led the effort with six, while Zandalasini added five, and Hayes and Kaitlyn Chen tallied four.
- The win is Golden State’s 20th of the season. The Valkyries are one of three teams (Minnesota - 25, Las Vegas - 20) in the W this season with 20 or more victories on the year.
Quotes
HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:
ON CELEBRATING FILIPINO HERITAGE NIGHT:
“I love the fact that we can celebrate and acknowledge different cultures. I'm really big on that. I think it gives people almost like a superpower or a confidence for the day to be recognized like that, and to be celebrated for everything that their culture brings. It also educates people about different cultures, and so I love the fact that we're super intentional about that because I think we have to do that more. It's exciting, I think this world needs more celebration. I think this world needs more love, more care, especially when some people are not seen as much.”
ON KIAH STOKES’ DEFENSIVE CONTROL:
“I couldn't take her out. I think she played past her max of minutes. She came in with a certain way of protecting that rim, you could tell she was communicating. She was a force in the paint. I loved her physicality without fouling. I think that was really key because that was something we did not do well last game versus Phoenix. So the way that Kiah [Stokes] can adapt to the game and to the different people that she has to guard. She has to guard multiple bigs that are quick, fast, and can move. Sometimes she has to switch onto guards. I love the fact [that] I'm like, ‘I ain't taking you out.’ So it was just really good to see that.”
ON TIFFANY HAYES AND JANELLE SALÜN’S PERFORMANCES TONIGHT:
“I thought they maximized their energy. I thought they emptied the tank…That's Tip [Tiffany Hayes]. Tip will go till she just completely is about to faint. That's the type of emptying the tank. She had great composure in that end of the third and even in the fourth, [knowing] when she should attack, when she should slow it down, when she should move it. She was excellent, and then Ja [Janelle Salaün], she was just always ready. She talked about the matchups that she saw. She was advising me and could say what to do in the timeouts, and she executed it. So that's that level of connectivity from now player to coach within these timeouts that are really key.”
GOLDEN STATE FORWARD JANELLE SALÜN AND CENTER KIAH STOKES:
ON WHAT WORKED WELL FOR HER TONIGHT:
Stokes: “I just give credit to my teammates, they found me when I was in the right position. Defensively, I’m just trying to be in the right spot to help my teammates when they need help, and hope that they help me when I need help.”
ON THE THREE-POINT SHOOTING AT HOME:
Salaün: “Being in this arena is always so nice, but I think it really comes from our defense…When we set the tone, it just makes things easier for us on offense, and we find a better rhythm for sure.”
ON THE SECOND HALF MESSAGE:
Stokes: “I think just being called out on our effort and intensity, that’s one thing that coach Natalie [Nakase] has said she never wants to coach, is effort…I think we all took it personally going out in the second half, and we know what we’re capable of. We can’t let our offense dictate our defense. One thing that needs to be a staple on our team is that we’re going to go out and we’re going to play great defense from the beginning of the game all the way until minute 40. It’s just a reminder that we need to lock in, and regardless of what we’re doing offensively, our defense needs to be our staple.”
Up Next: The Valkyries rematch the Tempo at home on Tuesday, August 4, tipping off at 7:00 p.m. PT on KPIX, KOVR, 95.7 The Game, the Audacy App, and ESPN 1320.
