SAN FRANCISCO — Tiffany Hayes scored 21 points, Veronica Burton contributed 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, and the Golden State Valkyries ran away from the Seattle Storm for a 84-57 victory Sunday night.
Valkyries leading scorer Kayla Thornton headed to the locker room at the 9:22 mark of the third quarter appearing to hold her neck, and the team said she was undergoing further evaluation without providing details of the injury. She shot 1 for 9 and missed all five of her 3-point tries, held to two points while grabbing five rebounds. Her teammates picked up the slack — on both ends of the floor.
Skylar Diggins had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds for Seattle, which came in leading the league in field-goal percentage at 47.0% but was limited to a season-low 27% (20 for 74) by the stingy Golden State defense. The Storm had only been held below 40% once, shooting 33.3% in the season opener at Phoenix on May 17.
Laeticia Amihere added 15 points and eight rebounds as the Valkyries jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead before Nneka Ogwumike's shot at the 6:58 mark and made five of their first eight shots for a 13-4 advantage.
Ogwumike, who starred at nearby Stanford, finished with eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and seven rebounds. The Storm had won four of five.
Both teams struggled from 3-point range — Seattle went 6 of 28 and the Valkyries 8 of 27.
Golden State center Temi Fágbénlé played 20 minutes after resting for two games upon returning from a brief absence to play for Great Britain in the EuroBasket 2025 tournament.
The game attracted some famous fans among the sellout crowd of 18,064 — Golden State's 10th in as many home games at Chase Center — including Warriors two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, South Carolina women's coach Dawn Staley, former Storm and U.S. star Sue Bird and U.S. soccer great Megan Rapinoe.
