Valkyries earn first win in final preseason tuneup, but front five struggle

San Francisco Chronicle​

12-05-2025

PHOENIX — The Golden State Valkyries will head into their first regular season opener on Friday having at least experienced their first win, but with question marks about their offensive production, especially from their starting five after the expansion club topped the Phoenix Mercury 84-79 in their second and final preseason game on Sunday.
Golden State started slow, much as in its preseason opener last week against the Los Angeles Sparks, when the team missed its first 14 3-point attempts. The Valkyries again sputtered early from deep on Sunday as well, opening 0-for-8 from beyond the arc and falling into a 15-point deficit before the bench sparked a rally.
'I just have to figure out how to get them a little bit more warm, I think, at the beginning of games,' head coach Natalie Nakase said. 'But again, I want them to continue to let it fly. If there are quality shots, I want them to keep shooting.'
The team won't be able to rely on second-half comebacks against reserve units once the regular season begins. The Valkyries' starting five — point guard Veronica Burton, shooting guard Tiffany Hayes, forward Kayla Thornton, power forward Monique Billings and center Temi Fagbenle — have yet to find a rhythm and again struggled to generate consistent offense.
That group shot just 9-for-39 from the field against the Mercury, including a combined 2-for-19 effort from Burton and Hayes, who were both scoreless in the first half. While Billings led the team with seven rebounds, she went just 1-for-6 from the floor, and the starting frontcourt generated just six of the team's 22 points in the paint. Fagbenle didn't attempt a single shot at the rim and was a game-low minus-9 in plus/minus.
Hayes, whose 9.5 points per game with the Aces last season are the most of any player on the Valkyries' roster, finished 1-for-11. Against the Sparks, she was the Valkyries' main hoop driver. Nakase thought the Mercury's defensive switches made it tougher to get consistent shots on Sunday, an even tougher challenge for a team that's still learning to play together, as Golden State is.
'We're playing against an experienced group on the other side,' Hayes said. 'So of course we're going to be a little slow, but at the end of the day, we can come together and fix that in practice… Our first group, we're going to get it together like (how the second unit) went on a run. We go on a run, we're always sticking together, we're staying positive. By the end of (the first unit's time on the floor) we were still right there in the game.'
Though the Valkyries shot just 34.7% from the field overall and were outrebounded 46–33, their bench delivered a much-needed lift again. French guards Migna Touré (19 points on 7-for-13 shooting) and Carla Leite (11 points, 4-for-7) led the scoring charge. Veteran point guard Julie Vanloo, who did not start either preseason game despite being the most experienced starter on the roster from last season, was a +11 in 18 minutes with 6 points and 6 assists.
'We have good spacing and good flow, it's just our chemistry and we're working on that,' Billings said. 'We had a lot of tips (on rebounds), a lot of just kind of hot potato type situations. I think we just need to be capitalizing on those rebounds grabbing the ball, getting second chances.'
The Valkyries turned the ball over eight times on Sunday, cutting in half the 16 turnovers committed against the Sparks last week. Nakase took that as a positive sign as she encourages her team to keep launching shots. Outshooting the Mercury 72-64 was another bright spot for her.
'That's why taking care of the ball is crucial, and that's why when we have great spacing, we are taking care of the ball, the lanes become way more open,' Nakase said. 'But if we're crowding into the paint, we're probably creating our own turnovers, like we're defending (against) ourselves… We just need more shots and more will go in.'
Golden State was without three key rotation players on Sunday: forwards Steph Talbot (quad) and Cecilia Zandalasini (right foot) and shooting guard Kate Martin (right hand), all of whom participated in warmups and are expected to be bench pieces, especially as long-range threats. French forward Janelle Salaün is also set to join the team this week after her Italian league season ended on Sunday.
With five roster cuts to make ahead of the May 16 season opener at Chase Center against the Sparks, the Valkyries are still a work in progress, as any expansion team would be after just two preseason contests. Their defense has shown potential, and the bench showed it can swing momentum. Now the challenge is starting games stronger and building consistency across all four quarters.
'We're getting healthy,' Nakase said. 'We're done with double (practice sessions). We'll give it more time.'