Valkyries Post Game Notes: Golden State 87, New York 70
WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Valkyries Post Game Notes: Golden State 87, New York 70

Published on May 21, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


By the Numbers

Thursday's game was Kayla Thornton's 300th regular-season game in her career, making her the eighth undrafted player since 2000 or later to have appeared in 300+ regular season games. Thornton posted 11 points and five rebounds in her return to Barclays.

Veronica Burton had 13 points and seven assists.

Gabby Williams led the team with 16 points, shooting 4-6 from three.

Kaila Charles added 13 points and seven rebounds, going 5-10 (50.0 percent) from the field and reaching 500 career points.

Laeticia Amihere held a team-high eight rebounds for the matchup, with seven defensive rebounds.

Janelle Salaün provided 12 points, 6 rebounds, and two steals off the bench.

Five players were in double figures for the second time this season.

The Valkyries held New York to a season-low 70 points, the second-straight game Golden State has held its opponent to 70 or less. The Liberty came into the contest averaging 100.0 points per game.

Golden State landed 13 three-pointers, over double New York's total of six for the night.

Golden State forced 10 turnovers in the first half, and 15 in the game. The Valkyries had only five turnovers, their fewest since August 19, 2025 (4).

Thursday's victory was Golden State's first in New York (0-2 last season in the Big Apple).

Quotes

HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:

ON THE TEAM'S DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE:

"I give all the credit to Landon [Tatum]. That's his game plan. My assistants are brilliant. I'm going to give them a ton of credit, and then the players for locking into the details that we wanted to take away. We talked about adding extra pressure tonight, just because they have so many different point guards that bring up the ball. Again, credit to Landon, and then our players bringing that type of heat with those amount of days off."

ON THE BREAK BETWEEN GAMES:

"The time off, I thought, helped because we did not have a good showing versus Chicago, so a lot of film sessions and a lot of accountability. When we watched it back, the players were actually just calling each other out, which was really good. When you bring back players from last year, then you have these hard conversations that are a little bit easier. So the accountability piece from the last game was there, and then yes, we got to work on different tactics that I thought we were really good at."

ON WHAT IMPROVED HEADING INTO TONIGHT:

"Just getting them ready. I don't think I did a great job of putting in the intent and putting in the type of movement that I needed, and that's on me. I manage the movement, and I manage the intensity of practice. Medical gives me the reins of a green, orange, or red day, and I didn't do a good job, but I felt intentionally we all worked together on making sure this week was exact."

GOLDEN STATE GUARDS VERONICA BURTON AND KAILA CHARLES

ON PERFORMING TONIGHT AFTER THE BREAK:

Burton: "We were aware that eight days is a privilege to get, but it can also be a little difficult to start off the game with a lot of intensity and energy. I do think that, in terms of our preparation, we came in with a really good game plan. It gave us all the time in the world to prepare for this game, and coming in and bringing the energy was something that we could control, and that was something that we put a focus on. Being on the road, having a back to back, you can kind of get into self-pity mode, but I think we just embrace the opportunity to come here and compete, and hopefully energy is not something that is ever really an issue."

ON STOPPING NEW YORK'S OFFENSE:

Charles: "Just being the more physical team. Giving them pressure; not letting them feel comfortable, and I think we did a great job of just playing team defense, having each other's backs, making sure we're stunting or being in help, and it just starts by having that aggressiveness from the tip, so that was one of our points of emphasis this week."

ON HOLDING TEAM DEFENSE

Burton: "We had matchups coming in that we liked, and we had them there for a reason. Obviously, the size that they have compared to ours. I think switching would have been a little difficult at times, but being intentional when we do need to switch and cover for each other. I think that's a big thing that we talk about. It's not just one man on an island, we're here to hold team defense, and we're all responsible for any person that scores. Just maintaining our matchups and being aggressive was a big thing, getting over ball screens and not having to rely too much on the person in coverage."

Up Next: The Valkyries visit Indiana tomorrow, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, airing on ION and The Audacy App.

Check out the Golden State Valkyries Statistics

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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.

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