SAN FRANCISCO — Tiffany Hayes scored 21 points, Veronica Burton contributed 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, and the Golden State Valkyries ran away from the Seattle Storm for a 84-57 victory Sunday night.
Valkyries leading scorer Kayla Thornton headed to the locker room at the 9:22 mark of the third quarter appearing to hold her neck, and the team said she was undergoing further evaluation without providing details of the injury. She shot 1-for-9 and missed all five of her three-point tries, held to two points while grabbing five rebounds. Her teammates picked up the slack — on both ends of the floor.
Skylar Diggins had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds for Seattle, which came in leading the league in field-goal percentage at 47.0 per cent but was limited to a season-low 27 per cent (20-for-74) by the stingy Golden State defence. The Storm had only been held below 40 per cent once, shooting 33.3 per cent in the season opener at Phoenix on May 17.
Laeticia Amihere added 15 points and eight rebounds as the Valkyries jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead before Nneka Ogwumike’s shot at the 6:58 mark and made five of their first eight shots for a 13-4 advantage.
Ogwumike, who starred at nearby Stanford, finished with eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and seven rebounds. The Storm had won four of five.
Both teams struggled from three-point range — Seattle was 6-for-28 and the Valkyries 8-for-27.
Golden State centre Temi Fágbénlé played 20 minutes after resting for two games upon returning from a brief absence to play for Great Britain in the EuroBasket 2025 tournament.
The game attracted some famous fans among the sellout crowd of 18,064 — Golden State’s 10th in as many home games at Chase Center — including Warriors two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, South Carolina women’s coach Dawn Staley, former Storm and U.S. star Sue Bird and U.S. soccer great Megan Rapinoe.
Valkyries guard Carla Leite missed her fourth straight game with a back injury.
Seattle goes on a three-game East Coast trip beginning Thursday at Atlanta. The Valkyries play at Minnesota on Saturday.
