More fond memories for Valkyries after routing Connecticut
Golden State’s Kiah Stokes, left, and Veronica Burton, right surround Connecticut’s Aaliyah Edwards, center, during Wednesday night’s WNBA game in Uncasville. The visiting Valkyries rolled to a 89-64 win. More game photos
UNCASVILLE, Aug. 26, 2026 – In the midst of a long and challenging road trip, the Golden State Valkyries found a place to call home on Wednesday night.
The second-year club from San Francisco was making its final appearance at the Mohegan Sun Arena and the best three-point shooting team in the WNBA sank 10 shots from long range in an 89-64 rout of the Sun before 7,789 fans.
Golden State, who have won eight of their last 10 games, were very efficient as four of their five starters played less than 20 minutes. The Valkyries (27-11) play in New York on Thursday night beginning at 7 p.m.
Janelle Salaun led Golden State with 15 points off the bench while Kaila Charles scored 14 points, just one shy of her season-high. Former Sun guard Veronica Burton scored 12 with a game-high seven assists while former UConn guard Kaitlyn Chen scored 10 points and had two assists.
Connecticut (10-28), who beat Chicago on Tuesday night, was led by Charlisse Leger-Walker with 17 points, including going 4-for-4 from three-point range with Neil Angloma scoring 11 points off the bench.
Only two home games remain in Uncasville for the Sun on Sept. 20 against Minnesota and the final home contest on Thursday, Sept. 24 against Toronto. Connecticut had two games on the road this weekend before a three-week break for the World Cup tournament in Germany.
Many Valkyries players were familiar with Connecticut and the Mohegan Sun Arena. Charles was drafted by Sun in 2020 and played two years in Connecticut. Burton was a solid contributor off the bench for the Sun in 2024 when Connecticut had its last winning season and advanced to the WNBA semifinals.
Golden State’s Veronica Burton (22) puts up a shot over Connecticut’s Haley Van Lith in Wednesday night’s WNBA game in Uncasville. More game photos
Gabby Williams won two NCAA national championships with UConn in 2015 and 2016 while Tiffany Hayes won two national titles with the Huskies in 2009 and 2010 and had an outstanding season with the Sun in 2023, averaging 12.1 points per game.
Chen won a national title with UConn in 2025 after playing three years at Harvard and Kiah Stokes won three national titles with the Huskies.
Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase won two WNBA championships as an assistant coach with Las Vegas, along with Stokes, including a title in 2022 that the Aces clinched at the Mohegan Sun Arena over Connecticut.
Williams, who will be playing for France at the World Cup, is having her best WNBA season, averaging 14.4 points a game in her first season with Golden State. She had nine on Wednesday against Connecticut. Stokes, also in her first season with the Valkyries, had seven points and six rebounds.
Golden State took command early. Leading by one in the first quarter, the Valkyries went on a 16-2 to build a 17-point lead. The Sun cut the lead to 11 but Golden State closed out the first half with a 19-2 run to take a 28-point lead at the half.
The Valkyries had two steals, two blocks and pulled down nine rebounds in the second quarter. They hit 11 of 16 shots from the floor and sank 4-of-5 shots from three-point range.
It didn’t get any better for Connecticut in the second half.
Sun coach Rachid Meziane was upset on how this team played. “We changed the way we play offensively,” he said. “We started to shoot the ball like them but we are not that team and we didn’t create well.”
After scoring a career-high 26 on Tuesday against Chicago, Aaliyah Edwards scored eight points while Diamond Miller also added eight after a tough shooting night (3-of-12 from the floor).
For the sixth straight game, Brittney Griner was out with an injured knee and she was joined on the bench by Olivia Nelson Ododa, also with an injured knee.
The contest was another fond memory at Mohegan Sun Arena for Nakase.
“It’s very nostalgic. I won’t ever forget it. Even Kia, I remember her jumping up and down celebrating (after Las Vegas won the WNBA title in Uncasville in 2022),” she said. “We had some great memories here. It’s definitely bittersweet. I’m happy we took care of business but this is a very special place. You can feel the fans, the fans are everywhere so it will definitely be missed.”
Golden State led by as many as 35 points and earned their 12th road win of the season. The Sun shot 6-of-31 from three-point range and if you take Leger-Walker’s performance (3-of-4) off the board, the Sun made just 3 of 27 shots from three-point range.
Two San Francisco based publications were at the game along with a San Francisco-based television station — a unique situation.