Valkyries Beat Tempo 83-75 on Janelle Salaün's Career Night

Video Credit: Golden State Valkyries

Janelle Salaün scored 26 points as the Golden State Valkyries beat Toronto Tempo 83-75 for their sixth straight win, a franchise record and first victory over Toronto.

Golden State led 44-31 with 8:55 left in the third quarter, but Toronto responded with a 15-2 run to take the lead. Julie Allemand‘s jumper put Toronto ahead, and Maria Conde’s 3-pointer boosted their lead. Toronto was ahead 59-57 entering the fourth, and Golden State finished on a 26-16 run to win.

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said adversity has become a theme for her team lately.

“Playing through adversity has been the key. The last two games, specifically, we didn’t start out really well,” Nakase said. “The second unit came to life again, so credit to them for staying ready. That to me is the biggest takeaway right now. We need everybody.”

Salaün shot 7-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range, going a perfect 3-of-3 from deep in the fourth quarter alone. Kaitlyn Chen added 16 points off the bench, tying her career high for made field goals with seven, and Kayla Thornton had 15 points and nine rebounds. Golden State’s reserves outscored Toronto’s 52-20, and the Valkyries won the rebounding battle 31-23, including an 11-4 edge on the offensive glass.

Isabelle Harrison led Toronto (9-12) with a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds, scoring six of the Tempo’s first 10 points of the game. Marina Mabrey, who was named the Tempo’s first WNBA All-Star the day before, was held to 11 points, well below her season average of 21.1, as Golden State face-guarded and trapped her most of the night, primarily with Gabby Williams.

Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said the attention on Mabrey was the story defensively.

“They were really aggressive on Marina all night, so it was hard to get her open,” Brondello said. “She’s tough. Unfortunately, she’s getting a lot of trapping. We’re probably just got to find more solutions to get her into a little bit of pinch action, where she can create something through isolations.”

Toronto, now on a three-game losing streak, played without Brittney Sykes (left plantar fascia), Kiki Rice (ankle sprain), and Temi Fagbenle (concussion). Sykes has missed seven straight games.

Nakase credited the noise of the road environment as a factor Golden State had to manage.

“It also takes a lot of communication, especially in a loud arena like the Tempo have,” Nakase said. “They have a great crowd here, so just a good job of our players sticking together, not looking around or not getting distracted.”

Thornton said the win reflected a team leaning on its depth through a difficult stretch.

“We win these games because we have a strong depth,” Thornton said. “Our bench players, I don’t like calling them bench players, but our other group, they do a tremendous job. It’s a great team win, and we’re just going to continue to build.”

Golden State visits the Connecticut Sun on Friday. Toronto travels to Montreal to host the Dallas Wings the same night.

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