Gabby Williams led a balanced attack with 15 points, rookie Juste Jocyte hit her first two WNBA shots and the Golden State Valkyries coasted to a 97-70 win over the Connecticut Sun in San Francisco on Monday night.
Kaila Charles chipped in with 12 points, Veronica Burton had 11 and four reserves contributed at least nine points apiece for the Valkyries, who were opening a four-game homestand.
Aneesah Morrow came off the bench to record an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Sun, who fell to 1-3 on a five-game Western swing.
The Valkyries scored the game’s first seven points, five by Williams, and never trailed. They built a 17-point lead in the second period and led by as many as 29 in the third quarter before the attention turned to Jocyte’s debut.
Golden State’s first-ever draft choice (fifth overall) as an expansion team in 2025, the 20-year-old Lithuanian never joined the Valkyries last season and was a late arrival this year due to a commitment with her Spanish League team.
Entering the game to a loud ovation with 4:48 to play, Jocyte needed just five seconds to record her first WNBA points on a 14-foot jumper off an inbounds play.
Playing the rest of the game, she finished with five points and two assists, also connecting on her first 3-point attempt.
Williams hit six of her 10 shots and three of her five 3-point attempts for Golden State, which outshot the Sun 46.6% to 38.6% overall and 39.4% to 33.3% from deep.
Kayla Thornton had a team-high eight rebounds and Burton a game-high six assists for the Valkyries, who were coming off a road split at New York and Indiana.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa had a team-high five assists to complement seven points and two blocks for the Sun, who played a third straight game without Brittney Griner, out with a rib injury.
The Golden State bench was the difference in the hosts building a 47-30 lead by halftime. Tiffany Hayes (seven), Cecilia Zandalasini (six) and Kaitlyn Chen (six) combined for 19 points in the first 20 minutes, helping the Valkyries’ backups outscore the Sun starters 23-12.
Golden State held the Sun to 9-for-31 shooting (29.0%) in the half.
–Field Level Media
