Valkyries vs. Sun: Veronica Burton Scores 17 as Golden State Wins a Franchise-Record 7th Straight, 79-64

Nobody in a Golden State uniform had scored 10 points until there were 31 seconds left in the third quarter on Friday night. The Valkyries were already winning at that point, because of course they were. That's the entire scouting report on this team right now: it will bore you, smother you and walk off with your lunch money without anyone on the roster looking especially busy.

Veronica Burton finished with 17, Janelle Salaun came off the bench for 16, and Golden State took down the Connecticut Sun 79-64 at Mohegan Sun Arena for its seventh straight win, a franchise record. They did it without Gabby Williams, their leading scorer at 15 points a game, who sat out for the first time this season with a back contusion.

Thirty Points at the Half Was Plenty

For about 10 minutes, Connecticut looked like the team with the streak. Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa worked inside, the Sun jumped ahead 13-4, and they still led 19-17 after one quarter. Nine points would turn out to be the most they'd lead by all night.

Then came the second quarter, and the Sun's offense simply left the building. Connecticut scored six points on 3-of-15 shooting and went more than six minutes between baskets. Golden State wasn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard itself with 13 points in the period, but Kaila Charles scored with 4:51 left to make it 24-23, and that was the only lead change of the game. An 8-0 run that straddled halftime stretched the margin to 34-25.

To its credit, Connecticut kept scratching. The Sun traded baskets for most of the third and got within 49-44 on a Nell Angloma score with 49 seconds on the clock. For a team sitting at 5-17 coming in, against an opponent riding six straight wins, that was a respectable place to be.

Burton Flips the Switch

The turning point belonged to the player who'd been waiting all night for a clean look. Burton went to the rim and finished through contact for a three-point play with 31.4 seconds left. Golden State got the ball back, and she scored on a driving layup right before the horn to make it 54-44. Charles opened the fourth with a three, Burton added one of her own, and an 11-0 run had turned a tight game into a 60-44 mess with 7:20 still to play.

Connecticut never recovered. Kaitlyn Chen scored three times around a Salaun three in a 9-0 run that pushed the lead to 69-47, the biggest of the night at 22. The Sun won the rest of the game 17-10, but that was mostly a matter of accounting.

A Star by Committee

Burton had totaled just 13 points over the previous two games, so this was a timely bounce back in a game where the Valkyries badly needed someone to step into Williams' shots. She went 7 of 12, handed out six assists, blocked two shots and finished plus-16 against the franchise she played for in 2024. Tiffany Hayes, who suited up for the Sun in 2023, also enjoyed the return trip, going 3 of 3 from the floor with nine points and five assists in 17 minutes.

Salaun may have been the best player in the building. She hit 4 of 7 threes, grabbed seven rebounds, had three steals and a block, and posted a game-high plus-18 in 27 minutes. Laeticia Amihere added three blocks and a plus-14 without needing to shoot much. Add it all up and the Golden State reserves outscored the starters on their own team.

Connecticut got 14 from Diamond Miller, 12 points and eight rebounds from Nelson-Ododa, 11 from Edwards and 10 from Charlisse Leger-Walker, while Leila Lacan had eight points and six assists. Kennedy Burke went scoreless and finished a team-worst minus-26 in 20 minutes. The Sun played without Brittney Griner (left quad strain), Saniya Rivers (left ankle sprain) and Aneesah Morrow, and it showed in the turnover column.

Six Points, Forty-Two Bench Points

• 6: Connecticut's second-quarter points. The team says that's the fewest Golden State has allowed in any quarter in franchise history, and it ties the fewest by any team this season.
• 42-9: Golden State's edge in bench points. Its reserves also outscored its starters, 42-37.
• 19-13: The Valkyries' margin in points off turnovers, thanks to 22 Sun giveaways.
• 11 and 6: Golden State's steals and blocks. Amihere had half of those blocks herself.
• 49: Second-half points for a team that managed only 30 in the first.

A Three-Way Tie at the Top

Golden State is 17-7 overall and 7-4 on the road. It has won 11 of its last 13, with the only losses coming against Minnesota and at Las Vegas, and now shares first place with those same two teams. The Valkyries came in allowing just 69.2 points a game over their previous six, a run that included a franchise-record low in Monday's 62-49 win in Washington. This one was also the 40th win in franchise history, in only the 68th game, which the team says is the fastest any expansion team in WNBA history has reached that total. A five-game road trip wraps up on Wednesday in Indiana.

Connecticut falls to 5-18 and 3-10 at home, with two straight losses. The Sun host Portland on Tuesday.

The Heist Nobody Noticed

Winning streaks are supposed to come with fireworks. This one has come with 62-49 and 79-64, a roster of players who each take a small job and do it well, and a defense that makes opposing offenses forget what they were doing. It's less a highlight reel than Ocean's Eleven: quiet, patient, everybody knowing their part, and by the time anyone checks the vault, it's already empty. The Sun looked up on Friday and found that their lead, their offense and six minutes of the second quarter had all gone missing. Good luck getting any of it back.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press, WNBA.com and the Golden State Valkyries.