Rainin’ From Deep: Valkyries Break Franchise 3-Point Record in Dominant Performance

The Golden State Valkyries put on an absolute shooting clinic on Tuesday night, electrifying a packed house and rewriting the franchise record books in the process. Backed by their 28th consecutive regular season sellout (30th-straight overall), the Valkyries locked in on both ends of the floor to bounce back from a tough recent loss.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, Golden State had drained 18 three pointers the most by any team in the WNBA this season shooting a blistering 45.0% (18-40) from beyond the arc.

Setting the Tone on the Glass and in Transition

The offensive explosion didn't just happen by accident; it was born out of a relentless defensive mindset and a dominant effort on the boards.

"I think when our defense kind of creates transition, then we can kind of flow into these open threes because it's hard to match up to us when we're maintaining space," Head Coach Natalie Nakase explained postgame. "And then also I think our offensive rebounds also generate open threes... just extra effort tonight on the boards."

Forward Kayla Thornton echoed her coach’s sentiments regarding the team's hot start:

“We had a tough loss, so my thing was to just come in and set the tone on defense and rebounding, and that kind of leads to our offense… When you play good defense, when you get stops and rebound, that means you can turbo run, and your shooters can get to the corners and knock them down.”

Record-Breaking Flurries

The Valkyries wasted no time lighting up the scoreboard, dropping a historic 12 three pointers in the first half alone falling just one triple shy of the WNBA all-time record for a single half. Driven by a 35 point second quarter (the second most points scored in any quarter in team history), Golden State cruised into halftime with 56 points.

The basketball was moving beautifully all night as the Valkyries tied their season high with 25 assists, remarkably assisting on 16 of their 18 made threes. This sequence of elite ball movement can be seen on full display in the clip below, which showcases the team's spacing and quick trigger perimeter shooting.

Video Credit: Tyler Wong

Stat Leaders & Milestone Moments

Kayla Thornton: Led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, tying her season highs in both categories. Thornton went 5-10 from deep, marking the first time in her career she has hit 4+ threes in back to back games. Coach Nakase praised her grit: "KT did a hell of a job leading for offensive rebounds, but also just her fight, she just kept punching, kept punching."
Janelle Salaün: Provided highly efficient offense, going 6-10 (60.0%) from the field to finish with 18 points.
Veronica Burton: Conducted the offense masterfully, dishing out a team high 9 assists to go with 10 points, finishing an incredible +22 on the night.
Justé Jocyté & Kaitlyn Chen: The bench unit brought major spark. Jocyté hit her first two attempts from deep on her way to a season high 8 points, while Chen went a perfect 2-2 from downtown for 9 points.
Milestone Club: Kaila Charles celebrated her 100th career game (7 points), while teammate Gabby Williams reached her 200th career game milestone (8 points).

Beyond the action on the court, the franchise also raised $3,000 for Youth UpRising via the Commissioner’s Cup total donation.

Up Next

The Valkyries will look to carry this hot shooting streak on the road as they travel to face Minnesota on Thursday, June 4 at 8 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. PT.

Fans can catch the action live on Amazon Prime, 95.7 The Game, or the Audacy App.