Kayla Thornton's Valkyries mission? Stealing her way to big stops and easy buckets

San Francisco Chronicle​

5 hours ago

The Golden State Valkyries have been one of the best teams at causing turnovers in the WNBA this season, entering Monday's game in Los Angeles with the third-most steals per game at 8.9.
Forward Kayla Thornton leads the league with 2.3 steals per game after never averaging more than 1.1 in her previous nine seasons. Playing the most minutes of her career at 30.6 per game, Thornton has become the Valkyries' key to their transition offense by flipping possessions.
This season, the 32-year-old Thornton has been used as an on-ball defender, regardless of position. Most of her success creating turnovers has come from attacking ball handlers when they get into the paint, using her long reach to disrupt opponents, and swiftly moving the ball up-court.
'I like putting KT on the ball,' head coach Natalie Nakase said. 'I think she's just a natural, physical and chaotic defender, and so we just got to make sure we put her in the right positions to make her successful.'
Thornton made two steals in Sunday's blowout win over Las Vegas while being aggressive on the ball. In her first one, at 6:06 in the second quarter, Thornton fought through a screen and deflected a pass at the perimeter. In the third quarter, she won a loose ball after Aces guard Jackie Young mishandled a dribble, leading to an easy layup.
Tightly guarding her assignment and quickly pursuing balls in the air have become second nature. Against Minnesota, she earned three live-ball turnovers from intercepting a pass and either deflecting it to a teammate or taking it herself.
'That comes from the game plan, knowing the personnel I am guarding,' Thornton said. 'Then it's just reading passes. I think I'm more effective being on the ball, I can play off-ball too, but that's where I'm most effective.'
Thornton's 3.1 points off turnovers per game ranks 17th in the league and leads the Valkyries. Golden State scores 16.4% of its points on the fast break, fifth-most in the WNBA, where the Valkyries like to use their speed to create offense.
'I see how aggressive she is, her tenacity,' said center Temi Fagbenle. 'She has great instincts, that's been so important for us, just getting the ball into transition when we can run.'
The Valkyries' defensive rating is 98.14 when Thornton is on the floor, fourth-best on the team. A lot of that is because Thornton is creating chaos — and transition offense — in her new, more active role, going after the ball.
'She has a lot of drive to cause those turnovers,' Nakase said. 'That's become her MO this year… She's really stepped up as our leading defender.'
In May, Linskens said she wouldn't play for Belgium in EuroBasket but focus on her role with the Valkyries.
'The WNBA has been a dream,' Linskens said. 'I've been on the national team for 10 years and already accomplished a lot of things. This is something completely new and I told myself, 'I want to focus on this.' This is my first year and it might be once in a lifetime, who knows?'
Golden State also signed forward Laeticia Amihere, one of their last cuts in training camp, to a contract for the remainder of the season to replace Linskens on the roster. The forward scored 20 points in 19 minutes of a preseason game against the Sparks. The former Atlanta first-round draft pick averaged two points and 1.3 rebounds across 37 games and two seasons with the Dream.
EuroBasket departures begin: Golden State temporarily suspended forward Cecilia Zandalasini as she heads to EuroBasket to play for Italy, the team's first departure for the Women's World Cup qualifying tournament.
'(Italy is) hosting so it's very important for my national team,' she told the Chronicle. 'It means a lot to me to be there.'
The Valkyries will also lose Fagbenle (United Kingdom), point guard Julie Vanloo (Belgium) and forward Janelle Salaün (France) in the coming days.