{"id":66221,"date":"2025-05-30T15:14:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/66221\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T15:14:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:14:10","slug":"what-worked-on-golden-states-first-road-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/66221\/","title":{"rendered":"What worked on Golden State’s first road trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Golden State Valkyries<\/a> returned from their three-game road trip with just one win, but the expansion team showed they are much farther along than many believed them to be before the season started.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Valkyries notched an impressive win against the Los Angeles Sparks<\/a> to open the road trip in a game that saw them lead by as much as 20 in the third quarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Golden State then traveled to New York where it was blown out by the Liberty<\/a> in the first of a two-game series on Tuesday. But two days later, the Valkyries hung in with the defending WNBA champions and lost a close game<\/a>\u00a0as they held the Eastern Conference\u2019s top team to its lowest point total of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the Valkyries have had their ups and downs offensively, their defense has been a bright spot through the first five games of the season. Golden State is fifth in rebounds per game (35.8) and fourth in steals per game (8.8).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Though the Valkyries would have liked to come away with a winning record in their first road trip, Golden State can see progress is being made.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re building and we\u2019re getting better,\u201d rookie forward Janelle Sala\u00fcn said after Thursday\u2019s loss. \u201cWe are all competitive people and we\u2019re not going to be satisfied after that. We\u2019re going to get back to work and we have more games to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what worked and what didn\u2019t on the Valkyries\u2019 first road trip:<\/p>\n

Worked: Janelle Sala\u00fcn\u00a0<\/p>\n

The French rookie has already established herself as one of the Valkyries\u2019 go-to options.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sala\u00fcn has been a consistent three-level scorer and showed she can be lethal in iso situations. She\u2019s averaging 12.3 points per game and is shooting 47.1% from the 3-point line on five attempts per game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Thursday\u2019s loss to the Liberty, Sala\u00fcn recorded her first-career double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.<\/p>\n

For a player who is playing in the WNBA for the first time, Sala\u00fcn hasn\u2019t been scared of the moment. She has taken at least 11 shots in each of the four games she\u2019s played while being guarded by the opposing team\u2019s top defenders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase credits her work in practice as the reason for her early success.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s so hungry for film and so hungry for just information and wanting to get better,\u201d Nakase said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"JanelleJanelle Salaun #13 of the Golden State Valkyries reacts after her shot in the first half against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on May 29, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa\/Getty Images)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t work: Interior defense<\/p>\n

While the Valkyries are one of the scappier defensive teams in the league, this road trip showed they are vulnerable in the paint.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Tuesday\u2019s blowout loss to the Liberty, Golden State couldn\u2019t stop New York\u2019s frontcourt duo of Jonquel Jones (6-foot-6) and Breanna Stewart (6-4), who combined for 37 points.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Starting center Temi F\u00e1gb\u00e9nl\u00e9 has been a steady offensive presence, but still leaves much to be desired as a rim protector. Aside from F\u00e1gb\u00e9nl\u00e9, the Valkyries don\u2019t have many options in the frontcourt when they play a team like New York that could score in the paint at will.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NEWNEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 29: Janelle Salaun #13 of the Golden State Valkyries fight for the rebound with Rebekah Gardner #7 of the New York Liberty in the first half at Barclays Center on May 29, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa\/Getty Images)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Worked: Perimeter defense<\/p>\n

On the flipside, Golden State\u2019s perimeter defense was a strength during this road trip.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Point guard Veronica Burton wreaked havoc on opposing guards such as Los Angeles\u2019 Kelsey Plum and New York\u2019s Natasha Cloud, totaling 14 steals across three games. Burton is second in the league in steals per game with 2.4.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Along with Burton, Julie Vanloo and Carla Leite showed they could be viable defensive options off the bench. While both players don\u2019t have the athleticism Burton has, Leite and Vanloo are solid on their defensive rotations and don\u2019t make too many mistakes that warrant them being off the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we follow the game plan defensively, we can beat anyone every night,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cOur goal is to be No. 1 in defense. I do think we can get there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"VeronicaVeronica Burton #22 of the Golden State Valkyries takes a shot in the first half against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on May 27, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa\/Getty Images)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t work: Kate Martin<\/p>\n

Kate Martin has not found a consistent rhythm since joining the Valkyries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Martin, the team\u2019s most popular player after her college years alongside Caitlyn Clark at Iowa, was a healthy scratch on Thursday and logged just 10 minutes against Los Angeles. She scored a season-high 10 points against the Liberty on Tuesday, but played in mostly garbage time minutes in the second half.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be a long road for Martin to crack the rotation in the next few games with Burton, Leite and Vanloo playing as well as they are. Forwards Stephanie Talbot and Cecilia Zandalasini have played solidly since returning from their injuries and are carving out roles as perimeter shooters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While she did not play on the road trip, Tiffany Hayes is expected to cut into the guard minutes when she returns from a nose injury, leaving Martin on the outside looking in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Martin is under contract with Golden State through 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Valkyries'Valkyries’ Kate Martin (20) dribbles the ball against Sparks’ Kelsey Plum (10) in the first quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, May 16, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Originally Published: May 30, 2025 at 7:30 AM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Golden State Valkyries returned from their three-game road trip with just one win, but the expansion team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3786],"tags":[7,159,160,479,4705,164,4025,4024,155,165,6,161,162,163,66,255,458],"class_list":{"0":"post-66221","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golden-state-warriors","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bay-area","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-golden-state","12":"tag-golden-state-valkyries","13":"tag-golden-state-warriors","14":"tag-goldenstate","15":"tag-goldenstatewarriors","16":"tag-inside-sports","17":"tag-latest-headlines","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-peninsula","20":"tag-san-francisco","21":"tag-san-francisco-county","22":"tag-sports","23":"tag-warriors","24":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114597440063392700","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}