The multitude of Chase Center was ballistic when the final bell rang. But for the first time, applause was the result of a victory by Golden State Warriors; This time, it was the Valkyries of Golden State who came out victorious, the newest WNBA expansion team.
He only took two attempts from Valkyries, but Chief coach Natalie Nakase and a list of Valkyries Scozpy arrived at the Victorias column on Wednesday night with a 76-74 victory over the Mistics of Washington.
And, perhaps the most great part of victory was the reality that he was headed by a player who was outside the league only one year ago: Veronica Burton. Burton accumulated 22 points in the team in 6-11 shots, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, hitting the three-point dagger with 29 seconds to play. In the victory, he established new career highs in points and rebounds.
Kayla Thornton added 18 points, Carla Leite and Janelle Salaun each added 10, and the Valkyries exceeded a performance of 30 points from Brittney Sykes to go out with the victory.
A year ago, Veronica Burton was out of the WNBA
The 5’9 guard had a tortuous trip to the glory of Valkyries; Last May, the Dallas Wings renounced Burton, and found himself out of the WNBA.
Connecticut’s sun picked it up in the middle of the season, and she emerged as a reliable support shipowner who also served as a high quality guard defender, playing 19.3 minutes per game in the postseason of 2024.
Then, while playing abroad in Australia in the low season, Burton received the news that the new WNBA team had selected her in her December expansion draft.
“It is an incredible opportunity, and only a blessing, being part of this draft and history,” Burton told the SB nation shortly after being selected. “Being able to play in the inaugural season and in the Bay area is something I could never dream of. It is something that I don’t want to take for granted.”
Only a few months later, he settled as the owner of the Valkyries and as a critical component of the first victory of the franchise.
The first -year expectations for Valkyries are low: the franchise could not recruit many main free agents, and none of the team’s 2025 draft team is currently with the team. The majority predict that Valkyries will be one of the league sausage teams.
But Burton and his teammates are ready to challenge expectations.
“We all have a chip on our shoulder, and we are all ready to compete,” Burton said in December. “All Assume’s children, you know,” first year, we will see what they can do. Just take full advantage of what you have. “But when you only have a son of the mentality that you are hungry and the mentality of helpless, at least for me, I don’t know, I have really high expectations for this year.
On Wednesday night in San Francisco, everything joined the front or a fan base eager to see the story.
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