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SAN FRANCISCO — Ten games into the WNBA season, it's clear that Kayla Thornton has established herself as the Golden State Valkyries' de facto X-factor. With her third double-double in a row, Thornton's career-high 22 points alongside 12 rebounds fueled the Valkyries to a 76-70 win over the red-hot Seattle Storm. Thornton's versatility on both ends of the floor has been the driving force behind Golden State's first-ever three-game winning streak.
After the game, head coach Natalie Nakase talked about how Thornton connects everything Golden State wants to do in the game.
“KT is super reliable,” Nakase said. “It's her third double-double in a row. So again, KT's confidence that she's built through her hard work and the work she's done with our coaches. Building her confidence, and I love when people show me that they want to be that kind of person. They don't just talk it, KT backs it up with action. That's what I love about KT, and when she's solid, consistent, and vocal, we usually come up with a W.”
Nakase wasn't the only one to highlight how Thornton's mentality fuels the Valkyries. In their joint postgame press conference, Temi Fagbenle talked about the physicality Thornton plays with.
“Every time she gets knocked down, it's like she gets a power-up,” Fagbenle said, which got a laugh from Thornton. “The more the merrier, I guess. She's a big dog, like c'mon. Nothing fazes her.”
Over the last three games, Thornton is averaging 20.7 points and 11.3 rebounds in 35.5 minutes per game. After a season in which she helped the New York Liberty to a championship from the bench, Thornton has elevated to a whole new level for the Valkyries. She's not exactly a traditional go-to-scoring star player, but her game has sparked the Valkyries to an unexpected 5-5 start.
Valkyries avoid fourth-quarter collapse
The Valkyries' six-point win over the Storm was a lot closer than it needed to be. Fueled by Thornton's confidence and their swarming zone defense, Golden State built a 22-point lead on Seattle midway through the third quarter. But things got away from them when the offense started to stagnate.
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The Valkyries' balanced inside-outside shot diet slowly regressed to just 3-pointers. And alongside the sloppiness with the ball, the Storm found an opening to get back into the game. In the same press conference, Nakase explained how the team allowed Seattle to stage a comeback.
“We started turning the ball over. No matter what, whether it's in the first quarter, second quarter, or third quarter, it's going to hurt you. So thank god we actually came out with a lead,” Nakase said. “Because when you do have a lead, now you don't have to play damn near perfect in the third and fourth. We did a great job with our defense creating our offense and getting easy points.”
Kayla Thornton helps save day
Seattle cut the Golden State lead down to five late in the fourth, and it looked like shades of the collapse versus the Phoenix Mercury. But Thornton immediately buried a much-needed corner triple to keep the Storm at Bay, and the Valkyries got timely stops to hold onto the lead. While it wasn't ideal for Golden State to nearly blow a 22-point lead, the fact they held onto the game speaks volumes for their growth since the Phoenix loss.
After the game, Thornton reflected on how the team has learned when it comes to closing games.
“I just think staying together, not getting out the moment, and just thinking about the next play,” Thornton said. “This is a game of runs, and teams are going to go on their runs. Seattle's a great team, and we just had to stay with it. We were up, and we kind of lost that, but we stayed with it. We found a way to get it done, and that's what I'm proud of my team about.”
