Reserve forward Janelle Salaun poured in eight of her game-high 21 points during a crucial late surge, Veronica Burton recorded a double-double, and the Golden State Valkyries defeated the visiting Phoenix Mercury 95-79 on Sunday night.
In a matchup between teams that opened their seasons with wins, the Mercury erased a 48-31 halftime deficit and pulled within 73-70 after a basket by Alyssa Thomas with 7:34 remaining. Salaun answered with a 3-pointer, then combined with a Laeticia Amihere layup, three free throws, and another layup to ignite a 10-0 run that gave the Valkyries a 13-point lead at the 5:18 mark.
Playing the second contest of a back-to-back road trip—which including a dominant 99-66 win over the defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Saturday—the Mercury never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Salaun’s 21 points came on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point land. The Valkyries outscored Phoenix 39-33 from beyond the arc. Burton’s double-double featured 13 points and a game-high 12 assists, while Kayla Thornton and Gabby Williams each added 19 points for Golden State.
Amihere contributed 13 points, a team-best six rebounds, five assists, and three blocks for the Valkyries, who won their second straight game after opening the season with a victory at Seattle on Friday.
Thomas led Phoenix with 19 points, scoring nearly half of them on 9-of-12 free-throw shooting. She narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with 11 assists and nine rebounds but also committing six turnovers while battling five fouls. Jovana Nogic drilled four 3-pointers on five attempts to account for most of her 16 points for the Mercury, while Natasha Mack and Kahleah Copper each put up 11 points.
The Valkyries built a 17-point halftime lead by outscoring the Mercury 31-11 in the second quarter. Golden State fell behind 7-0 and 15-6 before dominating the final 14 minutes of the first half. Phoenix responded with a 31-point third quarter to make the game tight well into the final period.
