While the Golden State Valkyries look to close out a three-game homestand in strong fashion on Monday, the Connecticut Sun arrive in San Francisco trying to salvage the last game of their four-game road trip.
Golden State (15-15), one of the top defensive teams in the WNBA at 77.8 points allowed per game, is coming off perhaps its best showing on that side of the ball this season.
The Valkyries stifled the Los Angeles Sparks in a 72-59 victory on Saturday. The Sparks had scored 100-plus points in capturing their previous three contests — including a 102-91 win over Connecticut last Thursday.
It was expansion franchise Golden State’s second-stingiest effort of the campaign, and resulted in Los Angeles’ lowest-scoring performance in 2025. The 13-point win on Saturday also improved the Valkyries’ record to 5-3 in the eight games since losing forward Kayla Thornton for the season to a right knee injury.
Thornton was leading Golden State in both scoring at 14 points and rebounding with seven boards per game at the time of her injury.
“We love each other, we’re teammates but we’re also family, and I think that’s a culture that’s being built here,” guard Veronica Burton said following Saturday’s win. “There’s an element of being connected off the court that plays a big role in being connected on the court.”
Burton’s showing of 16 points, five rebounds and five assists on Saturday marked her fifth double-figure scoring game in the last seven. The Valkyries are 4-1 in those contests, but the sole loss came in a 95-64 rout at Connecticut on July 27.
Tina Charles scored 24 points in the previous meeting with Golden State, a rare victory for the struggling Sun (5-25). The WNBA’s last-place team wraps up its road swing trying to pull out of a nosedive in games away from home.
Sunday’s 94-86 loss at Las Vegas was Connecticut’s 12th straight defeat away from home. The Sun started strong against the Aces, scoring 31 points in the first quarter and building a 45-33 lead in the second period.
Connecticut’s defensive woes, which have the Sun ranked near the bottom of the WNBA, continued against reigning Most Valuable Player A’ja Wilson. Her 32 points and 20 rebounds in a league-first 30/20 double-double contributed to the Aces pushing Connecticut’s season-long yield to 87.6 points per game, and 92.7 on the current road trip.
“We really didn’t get it done (against Las Vegas),” said the Sun’s Saniya Rivers, who scored 17 points on Sunday. “We had possessions where we showed that we could, but I really think putting 40 minutes on both ends of the floor is important.”
Connecticut held leads in both Sunday’s loss and Thursday’s 102-91 setback at Los Angeles but wore down in the second halves.
–Field Level Media
