{"id":1309,"date":"2026-05-11T12:02:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/off-to-impressive-start-valkyries-put-away-mercury\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T12:02:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:02:39","slug":"off-to-impressive-start-valkyries-put-away-mercury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/off-to-impressive-start-valkyries-put-away-mercury\/","title":{"rendered":"Off to impressive start, Valkyries put away Mercury"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Reserve Janelle Salaun scored eight of her game-high 21 points in a key late burst, Veronica Burton chipped in with a double-double and the Golden State Valkyries took down the visiting Phoenix Mercury 95-79 on Sunday night.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/wolves-win-after-spurs-victor-wembanyama-ejected-even-series\/\">Wolves win after Spurs\u2019 Victor Wembanyama ejected, even series<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In a battle of teams that won their season openers, the Mercury rallied from a 48-31 halftime deficit to get within 73-70 on an Alyssa Thomas hoop with 7:34 to play.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Salaun countered with a 3-pointer, then followed a Laeticia Amihere layup with three free throws and a layup, completing a 10-0 flurry that opened a 13-point lead with 5:18 to go.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Playing the second game of a road back-to-back, which included an impressive 99-66 thrashing of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, the Mercury got no closer than seven the rest of the way.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Salaun&#8217;s 21 points came on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 accuracy on 3-pointers. The Valkyries outscored the visitors 39-33 from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Burton&#8217;s double-double consisted of 13 points and a game-high 12 assists, while Kayla Thornton and Gabby Williams contributed 19 points apiece for the Valkyries.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/2026-nba-mock-draft-aj-dybantsa-best-fit-for-wizards-at-no-1-overall\/\">2026 NBA mock draft: AJ Dybantsa best fit for Wizards at No. 1 overall<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Amihere added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds along with five assists and three blocks for Golden State, which won at Seattle on Friday night to open its second season.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Thomas had 19 points to lead Phoenix, getting almost half her points on 9 of 12 from the free throw line. She nearly posted a triple-double, finishing with 11 assists and nine rebounds, while committing six turnovers and playing through five fouls.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Jovana Nogic drilled four 3-pointers in five attempts for a majority of her 16 points for the Mercury, while Natasha Mack and Kahleah Copper contributed 11 points apiece.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Golden State&#8217;s 17-point halftime lead was the result of outscoring Phoenix 31-11 in the second quarter. The Valkyries had fallen behind 7-0 and 15-6 before dominating the final 14 minutes of the first half.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Phoenix responded to the Valkyries&#8217; big second quarter with a 31-point third to make it a tight game well into the final period.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/earthquake-measuring-2-3-shakes-area-near-eureka-ca-on-may-11\/\">Earthquake measuring 2.3 shakes area near Eureka, CA on May 11<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>&#8211;Field Level Media<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><i>Copyright 2026 Field Level Media. All Rights Reserved.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><\/p>\n<p>This story was originally published <span>May 10, 2026 at 8:00 PM<span>.<\/span><\/span><!-- --><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reserve Janelle Salaun scored eight of her game-high 21 points in a key late burst, Veronica Burton chipped in with a double-double and the Golden State Valkyries took down the visiting Phoenix Mercury 95-79 on Sunday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Off to impressive start, Valkyries put away Mercury - 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