SAN FRANCISCO, CA – While the stat sheet will remember Kayla Thornton's career-high 29 points in the Golden State Valkyries' 83-78 win over the Chicago Sky, that's not what her team will remember. When the Valkyries look back on this rock fight of a win, in which they were battling fatigue and a hungry Sky team, they will remember how Thornton energized them through her actions and her words.

In their joint postgame press conference, Valkyries' guard Kate Martin talked about what Thornton means to Golden State.

“It goes beyond basketball. She's a tremendous person; she's somebody you want to be around all the time,” Martin said. “She's a great leader in the locker room, a great friend. And so, it's really fun whenever she's all of that, but also a phenomenal basketball player. You can learn a lot from KT and how she plays, and I'm just really glad she's getting all the success that she's getting.”

Martin herself finished with 11 points and was a big part of the lineup that went on a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to seal the game. After Martin's kind words, she and Thornton snapped and dapped each other up in the middle of the press conference. It was just another example of how tight this Valkyries team has become over the last couple of months.

It hasn't only been about basketball for Golden State. It's also been about the intangibles – the chemistry and grit this team fights with. Thornton herself shied away from indulging in the glory of a career high, as she credited her teammates and the fans for powering her to her big night.

“I try to come, each game the same. I think, after the loss to New York, it was kind of personal for me. So I just came in and had some more ‘oomph' to me,” Thornton said. “It just goes to my teammates. Like, I play for them. I play for the city, I play for these wonderful fans out there that give us energy. So shout out to them, because they get me going. My teammates get me going.”

What Natalie Nakase saw from Kayla Thornton's all-around game

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For Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, Thornton's big game was all about leadership. In a trap game situation where it was hard to muster up the energy to fight through the fatigue the team was facing, Nakase pointed out Thornton's voice as to what helped the team rally and avoid suffering a tough loss.

“Not even about her amazing performance, but just her leadership,” Nakase said. The coach acknowledged that the Valkyries' start was not one of their best. Whether that was due to fatigue, she couldn't definitively say, but she credited Thornton's response for helping them overcome that malaise.

“We went to KT, ‘hey, just can we hear your voice a little louder?' And then, boom, she responded,” Nakase explained. “And you saw her out there commanding, but also supporting. Because when you're not playing your best, we need to hear some support. That's what we lean on KT.”

It's been an impressive stretch of games for the Valkyries as of late. Golden State has won six of its last seven games in all sorts of different ways. Sometimes it's shutting down an opposing team on defense. Other nights it's everyone getting hot. But in games like this, having a player like Thornton who raises everyone's morale makes the Valkyries much more dynamic.

And that's what Nakase loves about Thornton. But it also helped that she knocked down clutch shots at the end of the game

“It's more to me, what she means and how she commands and demands the team to move. But obviously, hitting those big shots at the end, you know, I'm taking it,” Nakase smiled. “We completely rely on KT and I love that she stays consistent for us.”