The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Seattle Storm 84-57 at Chase Center on Sunday night, tying their largest margin of victory in franchise history.

The Valkyries have now won six of their last games at Chase Center.

"They're like our sixth man," guard Tiffany Hayes said of the Chase Center crowd. "They give us so much energy. When we're down, when we're up. They're picking us up. Shoutout to them for coming every single night. This is 10 [sellouts] in a row. Love that for us, so keep coming back every night."

BACKCOURT LEADS THE WAY
Starting guards Tiffany Hayes and Veronica Burton were the offensive catalysts for the Valkyries in their victory. Hayes scored a season-high 21 points, on a very efficient 8-for-13 shooting night, including making three 3-pointers.

"I think Tip (Tiffany Hayes) has this skill set of being ready anytime, anywhere," Head Coach Natalie Nakase said postgame. "That's what I love about Tip is she'll always make the right play no matter what the situation is. So they go under, she's going to shoot it, if they go over she's going to go downhill. If the low-man pulls over, she makes the right read.

"That's what's so fun with Tip, is she's really tough to guard in any situation. So yeah, she understood when KT (Kayla Thornton) went out that she had to step up and that's what you saw. So I love Tip on my team."

Burton filled up the stat sheet, recording 15 points, a team-high five assists, five rebounds and two blocks.

BILLINGS SPARKS FAST START
The Valkyries got off to a quick start in Ballhalla on Sunday, scoring the first seven points of the game.

Monique Billings got things started, faking a handoff to Stephanie Talbot, then driving to the hoop and pulling up for the jumper. On the ensuing possession, Billings was once again involved, getting an offensive rebound before Kayla Thornton got to the rim for a finish of her own.

Finally, a Billings block on Ezi Magbegor led the Valks in transition, where Veronica Burton delivered a corner three to put the Valkyries up 7-0.

FÁGBÉNLÉ RETURNS
After missing the previous five games due to her commitment to Great Britain in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, Temi Fágbénlé made her first appearance for the Valkyries since June 14. She checked in for the first time midway through the first quarter and made her impact felt immediately, scoring a bucket on her first possession on an action with Veronica Burton.

Fágbénlé finished the game with four points, four rebounds and two assists, finishing the game with a plus-14 differential.

MARTIN AND AMIHERE'S IMPACT
Kate Martin and Laeticia Amihere provided a spark off the bench for the Valkyries. Martin finished the game with a team-high-tying plus-22 plus-minus in 26 minutes, scoring 11 points to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Amihere added 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench, shooting 6-for-8 from the field, including a highlight-reel block on rookie Dominique Malonga.

DEFENSE STEPS UP
The Valkyries held the Storm to just 27 points in the first, the fewest they have given up in any half this season.

There was no let up in the second half as the Valkyries gave up 57 points in the contest, their fewest allowed in franchise history. The Storm shot just 27 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from the 3-point range.

"I think they're really, I wouldn't say the word so much of buy-in, but they're really coming into their own," Nakase said postgame. "I think we are naturally from one to 12, we are naturally defenders, and like I said our killer mentality as an identity is really showing out. So again, as long as we had that effort, we recovered.

"I thought we did a hell of a job on the off days of recovering, just to make sure that when we come out in game time, we are bringing that energy, we are bringing that fight; and so again, we want to be a number one defense, so I'm hoping this pushes us a little closer."

THORNTON EXITS EARLY
Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton sustained an injury and exited tonight’s game in the third quarter. Thornton is undergoing further evaluation and did not return.

UP NEXT
The Valkyries will begin a four-game roadtrip on Saturday, July 5 when they visit the Minnesota Lynx (5 p.m.; KPIX (Bay Area), KMAX (Sacramento)) before facing the Atlanta Dream on July 7 (4:30 p.m.; KPIX, KMAX), Indiana Fever on July 9 (9 a.m.; KPIX, KMAX, NBATV) and Las Vegas Aces on July 12 (1 p.m.; CBS).

By the Numbers