Golden State Extends Home Sellout Streak, Defeats Chicago 83-78

SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Chicago Sky 83-78 on Friday night at Chase Center, marking their ninth consecutive sellout crowd of 18,064 fans. The contest marked the first-ever Pride Night for the team, featuring in-game entertainment and programming celebrating the LGBTQ+ community.

The victory improved the Valkyries’ record to 8-7, while the Sky fell to 4-11. The game featured eight lead changes and seven ties, but it was Golden State’s 15-2 fourth-quarter run that proved decisive.

Valkyries’ Offense Shines

Kayla Thornton led the charge for the Valkyries, delivering a career-high 29 points, with nine of those points coming in the first seven minutes of the game. This was Thornton’s fourth game this season scoring 20 or more points, and stands as the highest single-game point total by a Valkyrie player this season. She was incredibly efficient from beyond the arc, shooting 4-for-7 (57.1%) from three-point range, and nearly perfect from the free-throw line, sinking 9 of 10 attempts (90.0%). She also contributed six rebounds.

Tiffany Hayes added 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists for Golden State. Kate Martin reached double figures for the second consecutive game with 11 points, including three successful three-pointers on seven attempts (42.9%). Rookie Kaitlyn Chen also had a career night, scoring 10 points and hitting her first-ever three-pointer. Laeticia Amihere was a force on the boards, leading the team with nine rebounds, seven of which were defensive.

Coaching Praise for Thornton and Team Effort

Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase praised Thornton’s overall impact beyond just her scoring. “Not even about her amazing performance, but just her leadership,” Nakase said. “Her leadership today… it was not a great start and we kind of struggled, and so we leaned to KT, ‘hey can we hear your voice a little louder?,’ and then boom, she responds; and you saw her out there commanding, but also supporting, because when we’re not playing our best, we need to hear some support. So that’s what we lean on KT, not even about her performance, it’s more to me what she means and how she commands and demands the team to move. But obviously hitting those big shots at the end, I’m taking it and reliability, like we completely rely on KT and I love that she stays consistent for us”.

Thornton reflected on her performance and the team’s collective effort, stating, “I mean, I try to come to each game the same. I think after the loss against New York, it was kind of personal for me, so I came in and had a more oomph to me”. She added, “I just thank God, first of all, and it just goes to my teammates. I play for them, I play for the city, I play for these wonderful fans out there that give us energy, so shout out to them because they get me going, my teammates get me going, my coaches get me going, the confidence, so it’s all them”.

Sky’s Performance and Key Stats

The Sky’s offense struggled with interior scoring, but compensated by hitting a season-high 13 three-pointers, accounting for half of their made field goals. Kia Nurse led the perimeter effort with five made threes, contributing to her season-high 17 points off the bench. Ariel Atkins led the Sky in scoring with 20 points, along with five rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals. Angel Reese had another strong rebounding performance with 18 boards and added 17 points. Rachel Banham rounded out the Sky’s double-figure scorers with 11 points, including three made threes.

The Valkyries’ efficient play was evident in their low turnover count, committing just nine total turnovers. This was the second time this season they have kept their turnovers to single digits. Golden State also benefited from their bench, which scored 30 points, marking the sixth time this season they have reached that mark, holding a 5-1 record in those games. The Valkyries are now 6-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points and 5-1 with one day of rest between games.

Up Next

The Golden State Valkyries will conclude their five-game homestand on Sunday, June 29, facing the Seattle Storm at 5:30 p.m. PDT. The Chicago Sky will continue their West Coast road trip, taking on the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, June 29, 1 p.m. PDT , with the game being nationally televised on ESPN.