Janelle Salaun scores 21 points off the bench and Valkyries beat Mercury 95-79 to win home opener

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — 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. 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. 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 Sunday. 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.

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Mercury: Host the Lynx on Tuesday night for their home opener. Valkryries: Host Chicago on Wednesday night. \\\_ AP WNBA: