WASHINGTON — They said an expansion team couldn’t make noise. Well, the Golden State Valkyries made noise in the first half of their inaugural regular season, going 10-12 to put themselves one game out of the playoff picture.
Then, they said it was a nice run, but that all hope was lost when the team’s lone All-Star was lost for the season at the All-Star break due to injury. Well, here they are, two games above the playoff threshold after a 7-3 stretch to open the second half.
And who is at the center
of it all but the player I said they needed to unleash before the season began: Veronica Burton.
All WNBA players have star potential because you have to be incredibly good with an incredible professional work ethic just to make the league. So me signaling out Burton as a player to watch was partly due to bias, as I’m from the same high school conference as her just outside Boston. But I also had legitimate reason for writing this article. I saw what she did offensively as a junior and senior at Northwestern and knew she had all the tools.
On Wednesday night, in an 88-83 Valkyries win over the Washington Mystics at CareFirst Arena, she shattered her previous career-high in scoring by eight with 30 points, adding seven assists and seven rebounds while shooting 10-for-13 from the field and 6-for-9 from 3.
One for the record books
Golden State’s postgame press conference was going well; the players (Burton and Cecilia Zandalasini) went first, followed by head coach Natalie Nakase. At the very end, with time for one more question, Rob Knox of The IX Basketball dropped a bombshell on Nakase, sharing this factoid from Across the Timeline:
I knew a 30-piece was a big deal, especially when Burton’s previous career high was 22. Before the game, I declared Burton to be a triple-double threat because she was sporting two nine-rebound outings entering the contest, as well four games with double-digit assists and 18 with double-digit points. Seven assists is great, and seven boards is solid. And I knew she was 6-for-9 from 3, but didn’t realize her overall field goal percentage. So I, like Nakase, was taken aback by the revelation. Only Sab and Phee! Legitimate MVP-level players!
Here’s how Nakase responded to the revelation:
I almost now want to cry … I think it just goes back to training camp when she wanted to come early and her sacrifice of not really hanging out with her friends and family, and saying, “Hey, can I come early? Can I get in the gym with you guys early. Can I do more, can I shoot on off days?” I mean, there hasn’t been an off day when she hasn’t texted me, like, “Hey, can I get in the gym?” So I just think a lot of it honestly has to do with her work ethic, her heart, her sacrifice. … And then I think it has a layer with her coaching staff. Just the way they support her, the way that they’re there for her 24/7, the film that they show her right after the game. Cuz the minute we get on that plane, she’s sitting there with (assistant coach) Sugar (Rodgers), like, “Hey I want to watch all my minutes.” So I think just everyone taking part in whatever she needs. We’ve been there for her. But at the same time it’s her own belief, it’s her teammates’ belief. And I think when you put her in a loving, caring environment and a let-it-fly mentality, I think now you’re seeing her just flourish. You said 75 percent shooting? God damn that’s nice. … Her name’s right up there with Sabrina and Napheesa. … My heart’s literally pumping.
Burton was quick to point out that her breakout season is due to, yes, her own hard work, but also opportunity—something she didn’t get much of during her two years with the Dallas Wings nor her one with the Connecticut Sun. As she put it:
I think opportunity is a big thing, and it’s a big factor in this league. And I’ve been grateful to have an opportunity to play and compete. I’ve had a coaching staff and teammates who instill a lot of confidence in me, and that goes a long way in terms of success on the court. So a lot of work and repetition, but also just opportunity and trust.
Playing for KT
Kayla Thornton was a deserving All-Star representative from the Valkyries before injuring her knee in practice and undergoing season-ending surgery. It says a lot about the Valks that they are actually in a more comfortable position in the standings now that they’ve used Thornton’s absence to rally together. Burton was phenomenal on Wednesday, but it has truly been a team effort with incredibly balanced scoring; the nine players who played Wednesday range from 12.2 points to 5.5 points per game on the season (Thornton averaged 14 before going down).
Nakase has received a lot of criticism for the players she has let go, such as projected No. 6 pick in the 2025 draft Shyanne Sellers and Julie Vanloo, who averaged 4.1 assists in her nine games with GSV this season. But, what I can say is that the players remaining for Golden State are the right people. Nakase has brought in good people to this expansion franchise from the first day, and that includes the people who have been let go; they have been a part of the journey as well.
Nakase spoke about how the team is playing for Thornton, sharing:
We (saw) one of our family members go down. And now that we have purpose to do everything for her, because we love her and obviously we miss her a ton, I think that just drives us a little bit more. Every time we step on that court, we know this is for her. We know she wishes she could be there with us. Whether it’s on the court or in the locker room or in the huddles, screaming, yelling at us. We all understand responsibility, that we’re gonna do it for KT and we’re gonna do more. So, credit to our players. They have to give more with energy, communication and trust. And I think we’re building trust actually a little bit quicker because of our purpose.
Too close for comfort
The big-picture discussions of Burton’s breakout season and the team’s excellence in the face of adversity are noteworthy, but the story of this game is a 25-point lead that was nearly blown.
The Mystics went on several runs over the course of the contest. Their 25-point deficit came in the second quarter; in the same frame, they were able cut it to 16. Washington also established a lot of momentum at times in the third, cutting it as close as nine. Then, the Mystics really made the Valkyries sweat with an 8-0 run in the fourth that cut it to four with 1:35 to go.
A Sug Sutton triple would cut it to three with 53 seconds remaining.
On the next Washington possession, Iliana Rupert played great defense on Kiki Iriafen, who had her way in the paint at times, to maintain the 3-point cushion. Janelle Salaün secured the rebound off Iriafen’s missed layup attempt with 20 ticks left, leaving the Mystics forced to foul and allowing Golden State to wrap things up.
Great D by Rupert at a key moment to made up for her 0-for-2 effort from downtown in the final two minutes (0-for-3 in the final five; 0-for-4 on the night). Then, Tiffany Hayes demonstrated her own great poise when she rebounded one of Rupert’s missed 3s and put it back with a layup to make it 86-80 Valkyries with 1:08 to go. Hayes also made the free throws that extended the lead to five with 15 seconds remaining.
However, Golden State knows it needed to do a better job of protecting such a big lead. Notably, they held Mystics leading scorer Sonia Citron scoreless in the first half, but allowed her to reach her season average with two points in the third and a whopping 13 in the fourth.
Zandalasini, Burton put on show from 3
In the fourth, the Valkyries failed to stop the bleeding and barely hung on. In the third, when the Mystics were gaining momentum, Golden State showed a lot more fight in the form of clutch 3s from Cecilia Zandalasini and Burton. Burton made a catch-and-shoot three from the right corner to push it back to 13 at the 6:32 mark. After Washington cut it to 11, Zandalasini answered with a catch-and-shoot 3 of her own from the top of the key at 5:48. Burton hit again from the right corner to push it to 12 at 3:34. Zandalasini capped the gutsy frame from the pair with a deep one from the left wing that rattled in to make it an 18-point lead entering the fourth.
Burton added two treys in the fourth to reach her total of six, while Zandalasini had the hot hand early with four triples in the first half. She finished with a slightly better percentage than Burton, going 6-for-8. Together they were 12-for-17 against the best 3-point percentage defense in the WNBA entering the game (allowing 31.3 percent). Zandalasini finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four helpers.
Hayes deserves a lot of credit for opening things up on the perimeter with her driving. She attacked the basket early with two driving layups and earned four free throw attempts in the opening frame. She finished with 14 points on 8-for-8 shooting from the stripe while attempting just one 3 (she averages 3.9 attempts on the season).
No easy feat to sweep in DC
The Valkyries have the sixth-best home winning percentage in the league, better than one team above them in the standings in the Indiana Fever. They have the ninth-best road record, worse than two teams below them. Clearly the amazing fan base in the Bay Area that has brought unbelievable energy to Ballhalla is key to Golden State’s current position in the playoff picture. The team would like to get better away from home.
Well, it picked up its seventh road win Wednesday, sweeping the Mystics 2-0 in 2025 games at CareFirst Arena and clinching the season series against Washington by going up 3-0 with one game to go. This is no small feat as the Mystics are similarly a very good home team. After the game, Zandalasini noted:
For sure we kept the momentum that we had in the last two games at home that gave us a lot of energy. We know when we are on the road we got to bring our own energy. And I think lately we’re doing a better job on that collectively. Everybody’s bringing something more each and every game. And just being confident.
