WNBA Makes Announcement on Kate Martin’s Teammate After Blowout Win

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Robert Marvi | Last updated Jun 8, 2025 3:02 AM ET

The Golden State Valkyries may be a WNBA expansion team, but they have been fairly competitive to start this season.

On Saturday, they took on the Las Vegas Aces, one of the better teams in the league. They managed to prevail by a wide margin thanks to a strong second quarter in which they outscored Las Vegas, 34-15.

They never looked back, and they gained a 95-68 win that improved their record to 3-5. A big factor in this win was the play of veteran forward Kayla Thornton, who had a career-best effort in this contest.

She had a career-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range, plus 11 rebounds in the victory.

FINAL SCORES AND TOP PERFORMERS

Kayla Thornton went off for a career-high 22 PTS, 11 REB, & 4 3PM in the Valkyries’ 27-PT win over the Aces!

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented by @coinbase pic.twitter.com/1lXBRTwYbu
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 8, 2025

Thornton spent the last two seasons with the New York Liberty, where she picked up a championship ring. Prior to this season, she had averaged double figures in scoring just once.

On the other side, even though their roster looks a little different this season, the Aces are looking to regain the WNBA championship after falling short in the playoffs last year.

They had won the title in 2022 and 2023, but last year, they lost in the semifinals to the eventual champion Liberty. Even after trading away star guard Kelsey Plum during the offseason, they came into Saturday's matchup against the Valkyries with a 4-2 record.

The Valkyries had lost four games in a row coming into Saturday, but they're now 1-2 in Commissioner's Cup play. They will visit the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday before hosting the Seattle Storm next Saturday, June 14.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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