Golden State Valkyries Postgame Notes; Golden State 88, Indiana 75
WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Golden State Valkyries Postgame Notes; Golden State 88, Indiana 75

Published on July 15, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


By the Numbers

Tonight's win is Golden State's eighth straight, extending the longest-ever winning streak in franchise history. The Valkyries are the second team in WNBA history to win five out of five on the road, joining the 2021 Seattle Storm who went 5-0 away from home between June 9-17 (per Elias),

Kaitlyn Chen posted 12 points in just four minutes of action in the third (accounting for 12 of the team's 18 points in the frame), a career high for points in a quarter, and finished with 14 on the night on 5-5 shooting. Chen is the first player in WNBA history to score 14 points in under 10 minutes of action while shooting 100 percent from the field (min. 5 attempts).

Gabby Williams led the Valkyries in scoring with 16 points, three rebounds, three steals, and one block.

Tiffany Hayes added 13 for the Valkyries, shooting 3-4 (75.0 percent) from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line.

Janelle Salaün contributed 12 points and two rebounds, going 4-7 (57.1 percent) from the field, 2-4 (50.0 percent) from three, and 2-2 from the line.

Kayla Thornton added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Cecilia Zandalasini reached double digits with 10 points, sinking two clutch threes and going 4-of-8 (50.0 percent) from the field.

Kiah Stokes patrolled the rim with two blocks and a team-high seven defensive rebounds, including four in the first half.

Golden State held Indiana to an 0-5 start and built a 10-point advantage within the game's first five minutes, highlighted by two early three-pointers from Zandalasini and a Williams block, shooting 6-12 (50.0 percent) from the field.

Golden State finished the first half with a 40-30 lead, the fewest points scored by Indiana in any half this season. The Valkyries also led the first half defensively, committing just three turnovers compared to the Fever's eight.

All 10 Valkyries who played recorded points on Wednesday, with six scoring double digits.

Golden State's bench also outscored Indiana's reserves 43-21, led by Chen, Hayes, and Salaün.

Golden State held Caitlin Clark, who entered the matchup averaging 20.1 points per game, to 13 points (seven of which came in the fourth) on 4-14 (28.6 percent) shooting from the field and 1-8 (12.5 percent) from three.

The Valkyries held the Fever to just 75 points, tying their season-low point total.

Quotes

HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:

ON TAKEAWAYS FROM THE ROAD TRIP:

"We're getting closer and closer together. We used this road trip to actually bond and become tighter knit, because when you're on the road you don't really have your own schedule...You do everything together. We had a ton of fun, I even said 'let's stay another night,' they said 'we gotta go home coach.' I just enjoy spending so much time with every player, every staff member. That's what I feel like we're building. A record's a record, but I'm focused on one game at a time, and what I feel is that we're just getting more connected."

ON WHAT FUELS VALKYRIES' SUCCESSES:

"I think that they [the team] would rather see success in the team more than themselves, I really feel that. I think that's why when I go with different lineups, or I substitute quicker, or I make shorter stints, they're so happy for their teammates...If they score, or get a block, or get a rebound, they are so much happier for the team than for their own success, and I think that's why."

ON THE EIGHT-GAME WINNING STREAK:

"I want to focus on just one game at a time. Because at the end of the day, we're really trying to prepare down the line, and we just have to get better. To me, 17 turnovers is too many. That's uncharacteristic for us, so we gotta clean that up and clean up our execution in terms of our spacing, press breaks, those things were sticking out to me, and then attention to detail...We have a lot to get better at rather than looking at a streak right now."

GOLDEN STATE FORWARD GABBY WILLIAMS AND GUARD KAITLYN CHEN:

ON KAITLYN CHEN'S PERFORMANCE:

Williams: "We have to be the only team that has multiple Sixth Player of the Year options. It's insane. She [Kaitlyn Chen] is just fun to watch, and she also just loves to play the game, it gets all of us up and hype and we just feed off of that energy. She's just always hyping us up, so it's really fun to see her reward herself on the offensive end."

ON WHAT STOOD OUT TONIGHT:

Williams: Our composure. Road games are almost always ugly. You're never going to have a game where everything's going in, where you're getting all of the calls, obviously the crowd's not with you, you don't have the momentum swings like you do at home. So road games are always pretty ugly. I think that us being able to win in these environments just sets us off for the second half of the season, and for the playoffs."

ON THE TEAM'S MOMENTUM:

Chen: "I feel like we're just really playing well together, and I feel like we really enjoy playing with each other, and that always helps."

Up Next: The Valkyries return home to host the Mystics this Saturday, July 18, tipping off at 5:30 p.m. PT on KPIX+, KMAX, 95.7 The Game, the Audacy App, and ESPN 1320.

Check out the Golden State Valkyries Statistics

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