Golden State Postgame Notes: Lynx 87, Valkyries 84
WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Golden State Postgame Notes: Lynx 87, Valkyries 84

Published on June 5, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


By the Numbers

Tiffany Hayes added 15 points, passing Hall of Famer Maya Moore on the WNBA's all-time scoring list with 4,985 career points.

Cecilia Zandalasini made her 100th career three pointer in the first quarter, scoring a season-high 18 points and leading the Valkyries in scoring for the night.

Janelle Salaün had 17 points, her fourth-straight game in double figures. Salaün tied her career high with five made threes in the game.

Kaitlyn Chen tied her career high with five assists, and scored five points.

Golden State forced nine turnovers in the first half.

The Valkyries made 14 threes, and have made a total of 48 threes in their last three

The Valkyries shot 100 percent from the free throw line, shooting a perfect 10-for-10.

Commissioner's Cup total donation to Youth UpRising: $4,000

Quotes

HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:

ON THE BENCH PERFORMANCE TONIGHT:

"I thought they followed the game plan really well. I thought Tiffany Hayes did a great job of reading when she should punch, when she should spray. She stayed on her feet. I thought she did a great job on her matchup defensively, and I thought Ja [Janelle Salaün], her ability to be versatile when we wanted her to switch, when we didn't want her to switch. I thought Kai [Kaila Charles] did an excellent job defensively. Her stats might not show it, but she was a pest out there. Kaitlyn [Chen] did an excellent job. Justé Joycté came and gave us that composure that we always needed, and she sprayed a couple of times as well to give us clean looks."

ON WHAT CHANGED IN THE FOURTH QUARTER:

"It came down to a couple possessions in terms of execution. We need those rebounds. We got rebounded by 12, giving up 14 offensive rebounds. That's not part of our game plan. It was attention to detail, so give credit to them. They were going after the rebounds with a lot of fight, and we just got to make sure every possession for us, when we shoot, we've got to hit bodies; and we were just a step slow at times. So, when it comes down to a one-possession game, we've got to have more onus."

ON GOLDEN STATE'S DEFENSE TONIGHT:

"Credit to our players, we made an adjustment towards the third quarter, and it was really good. On the fly, they were able to do an adjustment and stay with it. It was coming down to a couple possessions of boxing out, so again, credit to our players. We went in with something, and then we had an adjustment ready to fire. I thought we did it in a timely manner, but we can't give a team 14 extra possessions."

GOLDEN STATE FORWARDS JANELLE SALAÜN AND CECILIA ZANDALASINI

ON TONIGHT'S LOSS AGAINST MINNESOTA:

Zandalasini: "It was a very good challenge for us. We're gonna take what worked when we compete with a championship level team. We have to be proud of what we did, and go back and watch the video, and we're gonna be better at a few things."

ON THE 4TH QUARTER DEFICIT:

Zandalasini: "They just rebounded the ball better than us, and we lost the battle on little details."

Up Next: The Valkyries take on Las Vegas this Saturday, June 6 at 12 p.m. on ABC, 95.7 The Game, and The Audacy App.

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