Golden State Postgame Notes: Valkyries 91, Sky 71
WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Golden State Postgame Notes: Valkyries 91, Sky 71

Published on August 13, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


Golden State 91, Chicago 71

By the Numbers

The Valkyries drew their 40th consecutive regular-season sellout with 18,064 on Wednesday night. Golden State has sold out every regular season game in team history.

Tiffany Hayes scored a season-high 22 points on 8-11 (72.7 percent) shooting from the field to finish in double figures for the fifth time in her last six games. Hayes added six rebounds, five assists and three steals, becoming the first player in WNBA history to post 20 or more points, six or more rebounds, five or more assists and three or more steals in less than 20 minutes of action.

Kaila Charles scored a season-high 15 points, one away from tying her career high, and added five rebounds and three steals.

Veronica Burton added 13 points and six rebounds, shooting 5-9 (55.6 percent) from the floor.

Gabby Williams scored 13 points on 5-10 (50.0 percent) shooting with three steals.

Cecilia Zandalasini added 12 points and four rebounds.

Laeticia Amihere got her first career start, scoring two points with one steal, one rebound and one assist. Amihere started in place of Kiah Stokes, who was out due to concussion protocol.

Ashten Prechtel played a career-high 18 minutes and scored three points. Prechtel hit her first career free throws in the second quarter of tonight's game, making all three.

Golden State got 49 bench points, and 25 points off turnovers.

The Valkyries posted a franchise-high 16 steals, with eight players each recording one or more steals.

Golden State has scored 90 or more points in four of the last five games.

The Valkyries shot 50.8 (32-63) from the field, the third time this season they've shot 50 percent or better.

The victory is Golden State's 24th of the year, eclipsing last year's total of 23.

Quotes

HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:

ON TIFFANY HAYES' EXECUTION:

"She said she's in a flow state, right? She definitely was. It's almost like you can't take her out. She empties the tank, she utilizes her minutes when she's out there. She's always ready to play. She's always just going completely all out. Credit to Tip [Tiffany Hayes] for always having that fight, playing with that passion. She played with a lot of composure when things maybe were called and not called, so appreciate Tip's composure, and then on top of that, she's been working on a couple moves. She's a veteran, but she's continuing to learn. She's continuing to learn to play in the paint, rim reads, and then it carried over. We just taught her that this week, so it's just really impressive to see someone, a veteran like Tip, wanting to learn and wanting to execute for her teammates."

ON ASHTEN PRECHTEL:

"It was just her preparation. She's been playing stay ready games since she got here, so just credit to her, the Stay Ready group, the Stay Ready coaches. All the tough moments and days when we come back from a long trip, and they have to go back on the floor the next day. So just credit to her, her preparation, everyone that's poured into her, and then just her. She was confident. She was composed. I really got into her too in the fourth, but she's just like, 'I got it, I got it.' So just getting [on] her level to be coached hard, she was on point tonight."

ON WHAT'S WORKING WELL OFFENSIVELY:

"Our defense. Then, we get out and we get to run. It is our defense that leads to open layups. We need to punch the paint. We feel good, too, when we get to that paint early. You see the ball go in. It really is our defense creating more opportunities for our offense, as basic as I know that sounds, but we know when we lock up, we flow better on offense."

GOLDEN STATE GUARDS TIFFANY HAYES AND VERONICA BURTON:

ON TIFFANY HAYES' PERFORMANCE:

Burton: "I told her I felt like the whole game was just a highlight reel. Her passes, her finishes, her shooting, everything, she does so much for us. And her defense, that was an underrated part of it, but it's incredible to watch, and I'm really grateful that she's on my side and I don't have to guard her."

ON THE TEAM'S DEPTH:

Burton: "Next man up mentality, and that's been us since the beginning. Whoever we have available is who we're rocking with, and we trust every single person on this roster. So, big shout out to L.A. [Laeticia Amihere] to Ash [Ashten Prechtel], to Nadia [Fingall], and K.T. [Kayla Thornton]. They really came in. Gabby [Williams] gave Ash a big shout out, it's not easy being a DP [Developmental Player] and not knowing when you're going to be activated, not knowing when you're going to get your reps. But she stayed more than ready and it showed tonight, and we're really grateful for her."

ON HER PERFORMANCE TONIGHT:

Hayes: "It felt great, I was in my flow state...I just always come ready to give everything I got. We know our job is coming up not just for people, but just the team in general. I think we were down when our unit came in, so we had to make some plays. And like I said, our unit, we kind of feed off of each other, so I'm feeding off them and [they're] feeding off me, and we clearly work well together."

Up Next: The Valkyries host the Dallas Wings on Monday, August 17, tipping off at 7:00 p.m. PT on Peacock, KPIX, KOVR, 95.7 The Game, the Audacy App, and ESPN 1320.

Check out the Golden State Valkyries Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 13, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central