Valkyries Postgame Notes: Golden State 97, Connecticut 70
WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Valkyries Postgame Notes: Golden State 97, Connecticut 70

Published on May 26, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


By the Numbers

The Valkyries posted their 27th consecutive sellout with 18,064 fans on Monday.

12 Valkyries players scored points tonight, tying a WNBA record.

Gabby Williams scored 10 points in five minutes to start the game, and finished with 15 points to lead the Valkyries in scoring.

Justé Jocyté made her WNBA debut, scoring her first-ever basket in five seconds. The guard also went 1-1 from three for five points in the contest.

Kaila Charles added 12 points and seven rebounds, and was a team-best +27.

Kayla Thornton had eight rebounds and five points, while Veronica Burton added 11 points, six assists with no turnovers.

Kaitlyn Chen had 10 points for back-to-back games in double figures.

Cecilia Zandalasini returned to action, making her first two three-point attempts for six points on the night.

Ashten Prechtel scored her first-ever WNBA points, going 2-3 from the field for five points.

Golden State tallied a franchise-high 53 bench points.

The eight points allowed by the Valkyries in the second quarter are tied for the fewest points allowed in any quarter in team history (also vs. WAS in the 1st on 8/30/25, and vs. NYL in the 2nd on 9/2/25).

The Valkyries never trailed in the game, and led by as many as 34 in the contest.

Quotes

HEAD COACH NATALIE NAKASE:

ON TYING THE WNBA RECORD FOR 12 PLAYERS SCORING IN ONE NIGHT:

"I think what I was most proud of is the fact that our whole bench, no matter who subbed in, was always cheering. Whoever scored, whoever made a basket, whoever got a rebound or block, we were celebrating each other. It didn't matter who scored, who had this or that, and that's what I genuinely felt tonight, is that everyone was so proud of each other, and everyone was cheering. I saw no one's head, hanging low because of low minutes. To be able to have that kind of special connection right now, I think is going to be really meaningful down the road."

ON WHAT STOOD OUT FROM JUSTÉ JOCTYÉ'S PERFORMANCE

"Her confidence. Again, credit to my coaching staff for getting her ready. She's been playing a lot of stay-ready games, so credit to them for preparing her, for getting in her ear about staying confident, but also the players too. As soon as I subbed her, they were so hyped, they're so excited. You see that type of connection and support and that love immediately, that was amazing. She scored, I think in five seconds, because I was like, 'does she know the play,' and the coach was like, 'she knows it, she knows it.' You saw Kaitlyn Chen out there, directing her, and even Ja (Janelle Salaün) was helping her, and then Ash (Ashten Prechtel) comes down, boom, knocks down a three, so she didn't even hesitate, I think that was really impressive, that Ash just stepped up and nailed that three, so it was nice to see both of them have their first baskets."

ON KAITLYN CHEN AND TIFFANY HAYES:

"I think both of them are leaning on each other. We talked about their minutes recently, and they just said, when they feel that they have holes in the offense, they can attack. But then if one gets a little tired, I'll just switch it, and I'll just let her go. Having that type of flexibility against someone who doesn't want to dominate the ball, both of them are both willing to share their roles. I think that's pretty dangerous, because then you have two players that can punch the paint and then spray up for threes. We're a very selfless team. Half the time I have no idea where that ball was going, and so I think that we're definitely headed in the right direction with that."

GOLDEN STATE GUARD VERONICA BURTON AND FORWARD GABBY WILLIAMS:

ON THE KEYS TO TONIGHT'S WIN:

Burton: "Our depth, and just how balanced of a win that was. Every single person stepped up, every single person contributed, and it says a lot about us to be able to really spread out the minutes. I think maybe the first quarter was a little rocky, but the second unit really picked us up, and they really started that run, and it allowed us to really just kind of feed off of it."

ON HOW TONIGHT'S PERFORMANCE CAN PREPARE THE TEAM:

Williams: "This is a long season. This is a really long season, so our depth is going to be our strength. Knowing that these players from one to 12 to 13 are going to have confidence throughout the whole season, that's going to be huge for us. I know it's only game six, but these minutes here are going to pay off in November."

ON BOUNCING BACK TONIGHT:

Williams: "I was just excited because we talked the talk. We said we wanted to come out and punch them first and be aggressive, and we did that. That game could have been different if we didn't come out that way in the third quarter, so I was just really excited. KT [Kayla Thornton], her energy was insane in the top of the third quarter. V [Veronica Burton] got her hand in a lot out of those digs on the post. We wanted to come out and punch them, and I was just happy that we did."

Up Next: The Valkyries host Indiana on Thursday, May 28 at 7 p.m., airing on Amazon Prime, 95.7 The Game, and the Audacy App.

Check out the Golden State Valkyries Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from May 26, 2026


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.

OurSports Central