Valkyries (10-9) vs. Fever (9-10) Postgame Notes and Quotes

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WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Valkyries (10-9) vs. Fever (9-10) Postgame Notes and Quotes

July 9, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


Valkyries (10-9) vs. Fever (9-10) Postgame Notes, Quotes and Links

Golden State 80, Indiana 61

By the Numbers

With its 10th victory in its 19th game on the year, Golden State becomes the third WNBA expansion team all-time to reach 10 wins in 20 or fewer games (1999 Minnesota Lynx - 16 games; 1998 Detroit Shock - 19 games).

Veronica Burton made a career-high five threes on six attempts (83.3 percent), scoring 21 points while adding eight rebounds and six assists and a +/- of +22. It's Burton's third 20+ scoring performance of the season. The guard also had one steal which was the 100th of her career.

Kayla Thornton, who will be returning to Indianapolis on July 19 for the WNBA All-Star game, added 19 points and eight rebounds.

Tiffany Hayes posted eight rebounds, all of which game on the defensive end, and six points. Hayes was also +22 on the day.

Janelle Salaün had four points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Kaitlyn Chen had five points, three assists and two steals.

Laeticia Amihere had six rebounds and four points in 10 minutes of action.

Golden State headed into halftime up 41-32 after an 18-2 run, and held Indiana to just nine points in the second quarter which is tied for the fewest points allowed in any quarter by Golden State this season (Los Angeles scored nine in the second quarter on May 23).

The Valkyries limited the Fever to 18.8 percent shooting (3-16) from the field, 1-6 (16.7 percent) from deep, and forced six turnovers in the second quarter.

Golden State tied a season high with 12-made threes.

The Valkyries had 47 total rebounds, with six different players posting five-or-more rebounds in the game. It's the seventh time this season the Valkyries had 40-or-more rebounds (6-1 record in those games).

Golden State held Caitlin Clark to just 10 points on 4-12 shooting (33.3 percent). Clark has been held to 7-26 shooting (26.9 percent) in two games against the Valkyries this season.

Quotes

HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE

ON VERONICA BURTON'S THREE-POINT SHOOTING:

"I think we stayed really connected offensively. We stayed spaced, we held space today; and then I think just overall, we played team basketball today on both sides of the floor. That was something we were missing. But credit to each of them working really, really hard on our threes, And also, too, with Carla (Leite) playing you had another ball handler out there. So it allows me to play a little bit off-the-ball sometimes. So, I think V (Veronica Burton) is probably happy Carla is back."

ON KAITLYN CHEN'S IMPACT:

"She deserves every minute she's had, just based off of her hard work, and what Kaitlyn also brings is just a smile to everyone's face. Kaitlyn Chen does not have a bad day. She brings so much energy and so much joy, and when a person is like that, you can tell they're just super confident, right? Because they're just free in themselves. So I think that's what you see is our team and our coaching staff, they just embrace who she is, and we just allow her to have fun. I was able to get on her with her turnovers. I'm like, 'come on, Kaitlyn,' and she's like, 'I'm sorry,' you know? We already feel so close because she's coachable."

ON LIMITING TEAMS IN THE PAINT:

"Just study how they're getting their paint points. Kasib Powell had an amazing game plan, how we're going to be disruptive, and then credit to our defense. We played team defense tonight. I'd say the last two games we weren't playing team defense, it got a little bit individual. So credit to our players just being coachable, coachable, coachable, and then to Kasib Powell, that game plan. When we're connected, team defense usually ends in a good result."

VALKYRIES FORWARD KAYLA THORNTON AND GUARD VERONICA BURTON

ON WHAT'S CHANGED TO IMPROVE THEIR THREE-POINT SHOOTING:

Burton: "I think just taking open looks, like getting high-quality looks, and then they're connecting. But in terms of mechanics, in terms of routine and reps, it's all the same, and I think it has to continue to be the same, whether I'm making it or missing it."

ON WHAT WORKED DEFENSIVELY TODAY:

Thornton: "I think we got back to playing together. You know what I'm saying? Indiana is a great team, Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston, all their starters, they're great. But it just wasn't one player, it was all of us working together to stop the big three. So kudos to our team today for kind of going back and watching film for the last two games and realizing what we didn't do those last two games and coming to here, a hostile place, and executing the win tonight."

ON EXTENDING LEADS LATE:

Burton: "Yeah, that's a big point of emphasis. Obviously, especially on the road, it's easy for momentum to shift, or they go on a run, and it can be a little difficult to get that back on our side; and they did go for a little push, and it was just staying poised. Basketball is a game of runs and not letting that kind of get too much in our heads. But then it comes down to getting stops, if we can get three stops in a row and worry about the defensive end, the offensive side of the ball will come, and so I think that was really big for us to be able to extend it rather than let it come down to the wire in an environment like this."

Up Next

The Valkyries wrap up the four-game road trip this Saturday, July 12 against Las Vegas at 1 p.m. on CBS and the Audacy App.

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