"The Golden State Valkyries had a great opening weekend for the 2026 season, beating the Seattle Storm in their first regular season game, and beating the Phoenix Mercury in the home opener Sunday. Hopes are high for this Valkyries season after a strong showing their opening weekend, first beating the Seattle Storm in a road win Friday night 91-80, surging in the second quarter, and then dominating the Mercury from the second quarter on at their home opener Sunday night."
"And in both games, second-year forward Janelle Salaun outscored all her teammates, tying her career high of five three-pointers in Friday's game, and scoring another four on Sunday. She scored a total of 41 points for the opening weekend, with 20 on Friday and 21 at the home opener. "It's good to see that her confidence is super high," said coach Natalie Nakase after Friday's game."
""That's normal Ja. She told me she wanted to challenge more defensively, and so I could put her in any coverage. So it's really good to see her evolve and take the onus of it; and she's really loud out there on the floor." After Sunday's game, Salaun told reporters, "I'm just trying to bring energy whenever I'm coming on the court and you know. Also, my teammates are doing a great job finding me.""
"Team star Kayla Thornton, or KT, also had a solid opening weekend, scoring 19 points at Sunday's home opener, as did Alyssa Thomas. And newly signed Valkyries forward Gabby Williams also added 19 points to the board at her home debut at the Chase Center. As Thornton said of her new teammate postgame, listing her strengths per Bay Area News Group, "Her size. Her length. She's always disruptive. Her steals. Her offensive boards. Her defensive boards. All of that.""
Golden State Valkyries started the 2026 season with a road win over the Seattle Storm and a home win over the Phoenix Mercury. The team beat Seattle 91-80 on Friday, surging in the second quarter. In the home opener on Sunday, the Valkyries dominated the Mercury from the second quarter onward. Second-year forward Janelle Salaun led all teammates in both games, tying her career high with five three-pointers on Friday and adding four more on Sunday. She totaled 41 points across the weekend. Kayla Thornton scored 19 points on Sunday, Alyssa Thomas also scored, and newly signed forward Gabby Williams added 19 points with efficient shooting, rebounds, assists, and steals.
Read at sfist.com
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