The Golden State Valkyries' suffocating defense propelled them to an 87-70 victory over the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on Thursday. The Valkyries nearly won in wire-to-wire fashion — their only deficit was 3-0 as the Liberty scored the game's first basket. Gabby Williams led the way for the Valkyries with 16 points and four 3-pointers while Veronica Burton added 13 points, seven assists and was a game-high plus-26 in 27 minutes. Kaila Charles reached 500 career points with an and-1 finish in the second quarter and finished with 13 points and a plus-22 in 24 minutes. Breanna Stewart paced the Liberty with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds. 2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Jones added 16 points and Satou Sabally scored five points on eight shots in her debut with New York. With the win, the Valkyries improve to 3-1, while the Liberty drop to 3-2.

THORNTON AND VALKYRIES’ BOUNCE BACK
The Valkyries had eight days to mull over their first loss of the season and they quickly turned the page in their first game back, building a double-digit lead early in the first quarter. Golden State went on a 10-2 run to build a 10-point advantage, including five points from Kaila Charles, a 3-pointer from Veronica Burton and a layup from Laeticia Amihere. They ended the quarter on a 14-6 run to maintain that lead and forced seven turnovers in the frame. In their previous loss to the Chicago Sky, Kayla Thornton went scoreless on 0-for-11 shooting, but on Thursday, she made her first two field goal attempts in the opening quarter. Facing her former team, Thursday marked Thornton’s 300th career game as she became the eighth undrafted player since 2000 to play in at least 300 games. Thornton finished with 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting.

GOLDEN STATE DOMINATES DEFENSIVELY IN THE THIRD QUARTER
Golden State played lockdown defense in the third quarter, holding New York to just 12 points on 5-for-20 shooting — their lowest-scoring quarter of the season. The Valkyries were able to outscore the Liberty by nine points in the quarter despite shooting just 6-for-20 themselves. Kayla Thornton’s third-quarter block on seven-time All-Star Breanna Stewart perfectly exemplified the team’s defensive effort as she walled Stewart up in a full-court press before stripping away her attempt at an off-balance scoop layup. The Valkyries' first-ever All-Star tallied two blocks and a steal overall. Golden State forced nine more turnovers than the Liberty and outscored them 17-5 off those turnovers.

“Our players brought the heat, extra pressure tonight," Head Coach Natalie Nakase said postgame. "With those amount of days off, it almost felt like we were some caged animals ready to go.” 

3-POINT DISPARITY
3-point shooting differential continues to be a point of emphasis for the Valkyries and it typically correlates with team success. On Thursday, the Valkyries more than doubled up the Liberty from behind the arc, making seven more 3-pointers, which resulted in 21 more points. Golden State had four players make multiple threes, while no New York players did. The Liberty shot 25 percent from downtown compared to 37.1 percent for the Valkyries.

UP NEXT
The Valkyries will head to Indiana to battle Caitlin Clark and the Fever on the second night of a road back-to-back on Friday before turning to Chase Center for a Memorial Day duel with the Connecticut Sun.