Golden State Valkyries (14-13) vs. Chicago Sky (7-20) Postgame Notes
WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Golden State Valkyries (14-13) vs. Chicago Sky (7-20) Postgame Notes

August 1, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


Golden State Valkyries (14-13) vs. Chicago Sky (7-20)

Golden State 73, Chicago 66

By the Numbers

Veronica Burton led all scorers with 18 points, four rebounds, and seven assists with a +/- of +19. Burton was a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line, marking the 12th time this season she was perfect from the line.

Iliana Rupert scored a career high 14 points on a career high four three pointers, going 4-5 from deep (80.0 percent) and 5-8 (62.5 percent) from the field in 23 minutes.

Janelle Salaün played 35 minutes and scored 16 points with nine rebounds on 6-14 (42.9 percent) shooting.

Kaila Charles made her Golden State debut with 16 minutes, tallying five points, five rebounds, and two assists with a +/- of +8.

Golden State went 3-3 from three-point range in the fourth quarter, all of which came from Rupert.

The Valkyries have held opponents to under 70 points in back-to-back games, and are 3-1 on this road trip with three wins in a row.

Golden State went 15-16 (93.8 percent) from the charity stripe, the fifth time this season it has shot 92.0 percent or better from the line.

The Valkyries held the Sky to just 12 points in the fourth quarter, including 0-5 from three-point range.

Quotes

HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE

ON THE RESILIENCE OF THIS TEAM:

"Just give credit to our team identity, which I've said are killers but we have big hearts. Because when you can accept a player the day of the game and teach her things on the fly, but embrace the way our team does and give her confidence, I think that says a lot about who we are as Golden State Valkyries. We're not just killers, we have great hearts and we embrace challenges as a unit."

ON THE IMPACT ILIANA RUPERT HAS HAD THIS SEASON:

"That's who we knew in Vegas, that's why we chose her. She can space the floor and she doesn't hesitate. That's the nice thing about Ili, and she wants those big moments, and she just knocked it down. Again, credit to V (Veronica Burton) for finding her in pick and rolls, and like I said, at the end of the day we won this on our defensive end. We were able to close the game off of a defensive stop and I think that's huge considering that's what our goal is."

ON THE VALKYRIES' TIGHT ROAD SCHEDULE:

"Yeah five in eight I don't think is easy for any team, and we're just trying to find ways. That is our challenge, it's what we talked about early on this season. We can't choose our environment so how can we as a staff make the environment as tough as possible when we're at home, to challenge them to understand that nothing is going to be easy on the road. Whether that's going to be getting calls or whether it's going to be the crowd. So at the end of the day, we talked about how we have to bring our own energy. Landon (Tatum) said something with a lot of heart, with a lot of energy at the players and I think that really ignited them, and again I thought Landon did a great job with the scout and I thought he did a hell of a job with our matchups, with our coverages, so just credit to my coaching staff, they were very prepared."

GOLDEN STATE GUARD VERONICA BURTON AND FORWARD JANELLE SALAÜN

ON THE RESILIENCE OF THIS GROUP:

Burton: "The trust in each other and the ability to step up when people go down. I thought Kaila (Charles) did an incredible job coming in. It's not easy getting in, and meeting new people but she played big minutes. At the end of the day we really rely on each other and we trust each other, so to be able to do this on the road down the stretch on a back-to-back is definitely impressive, and now it's onto the next."

ON THE VALKYRIES' FEELING DURING THIS ROADTRIP:

Salaün: "It's a good vibe, winning always feels good. The way we're winning tells a lot, and the vibe is just good as we're trying to survive this winning streak."

ON THE PHYSICAL TOLL OF PLAYING A BACK-TO-BACK GAME:

Burton: "You know, you feel it in the first quarter, honestly. You feel it coming off the plane, but that's being a professional athlete and that's the reality of our season right now. Every team goes through this stretch of really difficult games and back-to-back is never easy. At the end of the day it comes down to mental toughness, too, and who can push through. We were talking about energy and that's something we can control, and that's the stuff that takes you over the edge."

Up Next

Golden State wraps up the road trip on Sunday, August 3 versus Las Vegas at 3 p.m. PT on KPIX, KMAX and the Audacy App.

Check out the Golden State Valkyries Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 1, 2025


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