Golden State Valkyries (23-21) vs. Minnesota Lynx (34-10) Postgame Notes and Quotes
WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Golden State Valkyries (23-21) vs. Minnesota Lynx (34-10) Postgame Notes and Quotes

Published on September 11, 2025 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


Golden State Valkyries (23-21) vs. Minnesota Lynx (34-10) Postgame Notes, Quotes and Links

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Golden State 53, Minnesota 72

By the Numbers

Golden State will be the No. 8 seed at the WNBA Playoffs, and will take on top-seeded Minnesota in the first round. Game dates and times for the series will be announced by the WNBA later tonight.

Janelle Salaün had a team-high 11 rebounds, eight of which game on the defensive end, and five points.

Veronica Burton handed out seven assists and tied her career high with five steals. Burton also added eight points and was a perfect 4-4 from the line.

Kaila Charles scored eight points and had seven rebounds in the start.

Iliana Rupert made Golden State's first two three-pointers on the night and had eight points and eight rebounds.

Monique Billings scored six points to eclipse 1,500 career points.

Cecilia Zandalasini scored eight points in 22 minutes off the bench.

Golden State shot 80.0 percent (12-15) from the free throw line.

Quotes

HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:

ON WHAT THEY LEARNED AGAINST MINNESOTA HEADING INTO THE PLAYOFFS:

"Yeah, make shots, which we are capable of. We had a lot of good looks, I thought we moved the ball really well. We do have to take care of it a little bit better, so we got to get off of it a little bit earlier because we got a little bit too deep at times. But we just have to make shots. I know the capability of our players. We work on our threes all the time. So I'm really hopeful. I'm glad, as ironic as that sounds, but playing somebody now and then having a good look, it's not like we have to completely change a ton of things and completely embrace and learn about a new team. So I'm taking this as a positive, and we get to stay here."

ON THE DEFENSE:

"Holding them to 72, that's great. Considering there were four offensive fouls, which was very shocking to me because those are turnovers plus fouls. So I want to go back and look at those because you can't turn the ball over this team. But even if you turn it over, they're still taking it out and they get the possession and we get a possession taken away. I just want to make sure we're patient. If that's what they saw that we're moving, I would love to make sure we clean that up because we cannot offensive foul. That's the first time I've ever seen that, and playoffs are about physicality. So that's where I'm going to go back and see, what is the level of physicality that's going to have to happen in the next couple of games? Because I know the playoffs become physical."

ON EMBRACING AN UNDERDOG MENTALITY:

"I just like winning. I like to do whatever it takes to win. And at this moment we're facing Minnesota. We just played them again. I take that as a positive because you just got reps of what works, what doesn't; and we get to stay here. I just try to pick all the positives, underdog or not. I mean, I've been an underdog my whole life. But I think all of our players have that type of mentality. I think they like to be doubted, they like to prove people wrong, and I think that's what's connected us, too. I think that's kind of the beauty of our season, is that we have been connecting on all different levels of past experiences, past trauma, past everything."

GOLDEN STATE GUARDS VERONICA BURTON AND KAILA CHARLES

ON THE OFFENSE TONIGHT VERSUS MINNESOTA'S DEFENSE:

Burton: "A combination of both, they're a very good defensive team, and they executed their defensive game plan really well. I also do think shots weren't falling. A lot of shots that we normally hit, some good looks, just didn't fall."

ON FACING MINNESOTA IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS:

Charles: "I think a lot of the stuff that we could fix is in our control. So if we get the extra stops, if we get the rebounds, if we just hit a few more shots, it would have been a different game. So I think it was a good learning curve to just see the stuff that they're gonna run, how we can defend it, how we can manipulate the game to our benefit; and we'll watch the film and be better Sunday."

ON THE STRONG DEFENSE IN THE THIRD QUARTER:

Burton: "We know every single team in this league is beatable. We can compete with anyone and when we're doing what we talked about doing, when we're connected and on the same page, for sure we're confident. We brought it to four and we shot absolutely terribly. So we know that we're right there and the playoffs are a clean slate."

Up Next

Golden State stays in Minnesota to take on the Lynx in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs. Game one tips off on Sunday, September 14.

Check out the Golden State Valkyries Statistics

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