Alyssa Thomas’ near triple-double not enough as Mercury lose vs. Valkyries

Janelle Salaun scored 21 points off the bench, Gabby Williams contributed 19 points and five rebounds in her home debut for Golden State after the All-Star forward signed last month, and the Valkyries beat the Phoenix Mercury 95-79 on Sunday night.

Alyssa Thomas had 19 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds for the Mercury, who completed a road back-to-back. They routed the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 99-66 on Saturday, with Natasha Mack grabbing 15 rebounds — the largest road win in franchise history and a rematch of the 2025 WNBA Finals. Mack managed only two rebounds on Sunday.

Kayla Thornton also scored 19, and Veronica Burton added 13 points and 12 assists for the second-year Valkyries, who made history by becoming the first expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in its first season before losing to top-seeded Minnesota 75-74.

Kiana Williams, a former Stanford star whose Hall of Fame college coach Tara VanDerveer was in attendance, made a 3-pointer with 8:03 left that pulled Phoenix within 73-68, and Thomas’ two free throws at the 7:34 mark made it 73-70.

Then Salaun converted three free throws for Golden State with 5:43 to play before her layup the next time down made it 83-70. That delighted the sellout crowd at 18,064-capacity Chase Center, where the Valkyries sold out all 22 of their home games last year.

The Valkyries received a rousing ovation from the home crowd shortly before tipoff when Burton spoke on the microphone to “Ballhalla,” as it became known inside the arena in a play on Valhalla, which in Norse mythology is where Valkyries guide the souls of slain Warriors.

Phoenix went ahead 7-0 before Golden State started the second quarter on a 21-6 burst to take a 38-26 lead and build a 48-31 advantage at intermission.

Salaun shot 7 of 9 and made all four of her 3-point tries for a Golden State team missing Tiffany Hayes with a left pinky injury and Cecilia Zandalasini because of a concussion.

Mercury’s next game

The Mercury return to Phoenix for their home opener against the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday.

Tip-off from Mortgage Matchup Center is at 7 p.m. and can be seen on Arizona’s Family 3TV.

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