Golden State Valkyries (13-13) vs. Washington Mystics (13-14) Postgame Notes
WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Golden State Valkyries (13-13) vs. Washington Mystics (13-14) Postgame Notes

Published on July 31, 2025 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


Golden State Valkyries (13-13) vs. Washington Mystics (13-14)

Golden State 68, Washington 67

By the Numbers

Iliana Rupert got her first start of the season, scoring nine points in the first seven minutes of action on three three-pointers, and had 11 total points on the night. Rupert also had seven rebounds, six of which game on the defensive end.

Veronica Burton recorded her second career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists, and had seven rebounds.

Kate Martin went 3-6 from three for 14 points in 23 minutes off the bench, and was a perfect 3-3 from the line while adding five rebounds.

Tiffany Hayes played 20 minutes and had two rebounds, becoming the 23rd player in league history to reach 10,000 minutes, 4,800 points, 1,200 rebounds and 350 steals in their career. Hayes is the 42nd player in WNBA history to eclipse 10,000 career minutes.

Temi Fágbénlé went 5-11 (45.4 percent) from the floor for 10 points, and added six rebounds.

Laeticia Amihere knocked down her first career three pointer in the first quarter, and finished with eight points and five rebounds, going 5-6 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line.

Janelle Salaün had nine points, none bigger than the two that came with one minute left to put Golden State up one. It's Golden State's second-straight victory from a basket in the last minute.

The Valkyries had 21 assists on 22 made baskets.

Golden State scored 30 points in the first on a season-high 71.4 percent (10-14) shooting, including 5-8 (62.5 percent) from deep.

The Valkyries defense held Washington scoreless for over six minutes in the fourth quarter (7:20-1:15) to close out the victory.

Golden State shot 42.3 percent (11-26) from three, and have shot 40.0 percent or better in back-to-back games. The Valkyries also had four players score in double figures in consecutive games, and for the eighth time this season.

Quotes

HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE

ON THE FINAL FEW MINUTES TONIGHT:

"We talked about being top in defense and being one of the toughest teams, I think that just showed it. That last couple minutes, like you said, it showed our toughness. Back to the resilience of what we had last game, and then just overall just gritty. Sometimes it's not pretty, but being on the road, not everything going our way, we still stay connected and I thought we fought our asses off till the very second."

ON RELYING ON DEFENSE TO CLOSE OUT GAMES:

"I don't even look at the six points, I look at the score, and both teams couldn't move that scoreboard at all, and so I was like 'hey, look we're still up, we're still up.' So relying on our defense and Landon (Tatum) did a great job just sticking with the coverages that he called and then just keeping them composed. I thought down the stretch they knew exactly what to do, and I thought that was really good execution on the defensive end, because sometimes you could win off of a defensive execution. We did this game and we did it versus Atlanta."

ON JANELLE SALAÜN BEING CLUTCH DOWN THE STRETCH:

"Yeah Ja is versatile. Obviously she could be a three, she could be four, so just having that versatility to go against any type of defender, I think that's key. Just credit to our staff and to her teammates, and for everyone to continue to believe in her and just pour a ton of confidence in her. But she already has a chip on her shoulder, she already has this kind of like Kobe (Bryant), Michael Jordan-esk mentality, and so we really don't have to give her too much confidence, she has it."

GOLDEN STATE GUARD KATE MARTIN AND CENTER ILIANA RUPERT

ON THAT LAST DEFENSIVE STAND TO SEAL THE WIN:

Martin: "I think we just stuck together, and stuck to our game plan there and got a stop. It was just like a ball screen, Ja (Janelle Salaün) got over and had her hands up, made it difficult for her. Ja used her length well and I just think down the stretch we stayed together whenever things weren't going our way, and that's a positive thing."

ON CLOSING OUT GAMES:

Martin: "I think we do have a great bench with great energy, but also like not getting too frazzled and relying on our defense. We've gotten here because of our defense, not our offense, and so if we're not scoring we make sure to hold them as much as possible and, obviously we talk about resilience but obviously (there are) some things that we can work on, we shouldn't be giving up a 12-point lead but on the road, sticking together and still coming out with a win like that is huge and something to be proud of."

ON JANELLE SALAÜN:

Rupert: "I'm really happy for her, she deserves all of that, she's a really hard worker. I've known her for almost 10 years now, and seeing her having that much confidence in her, because she can have a really bad game but still she will step up at the end and that's really her. That's her killer mentality, and I'm happy that she can bring that to the league."

Up Next

Golden State returns to action tomorrow, August 1 in the second game of its first-ever back-to-back, visiting the Chicago Sky at 4:30 p.m. PT on ION and the Audacy App.

Check out the Golden State Valkyries Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 31, 2025


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