Kayla

Thornton

Charles made a lot of the hustle plays for the Valkyries on Wednesday night proving exactly why head coach Natalie Nakase was so interested in signing the wing to a first seven-day contract on August 1. With Kayla Thornton out for the season and Monique Billings out for weeks rather than days, the Valkyries took advantage of an opportunity to add to their wing depth. Charles moved well off the ball scoring half of her field goals on off ball movement. She got on the glass and was the team’s third highest rebounder behind Tiffany Hayes and Temi Fágbénlé. One of her scores came on a putback layup.

Billings (ankle) will play Tuesday’s game against the Dream after she was previously ruled questionable and then a game time decision. She will start on Tuesday night since the Valkyries will be without Kayla Thornton for the rest of the season. With the Dream also having so much size in their front court, it makes sense that Billings gets the start instead of smaller shooting wing Cecilia Zandalasini.

Hayes had a very balanced performance against Dallas. She bounced back from a three-point outing against Seattle by scoring in double figures for the fifth time in July, while tying a season-high in assists along the way. The veteran came up big down the stretch of the game in both areas and was particularly effective at the free-throw line to help Golden State snap a three-game skid and inch closer to a .500 record. Hayes will continue to play a key piece on the offensive end moving forward, especially now that Kayla Thornton (knee) is out for the season.

The rookie finished as one of the Valkyries’ leaders in scoring on Friday night. She was the only Golden State player to finish with double-digit shot attempts, and with the high volume came a trio of three-pointers. With Kayla Thornton officially out for the season after undergoing knee surgery, it may open up more opportunities for the rookie forward to take on the primary scoring responsibilities for the Valkyries. She’ll have a chance to land another strong outing against Connecticut on Sunday.

After already having lost all-star forward Kayla Thornton to a season-ending knee surgery earlier on Friday, the Vallkyries will be down another frontcourt member as Billings (ankle) is set to miss Friday’s contest against the Wings. Billings is averaging 7.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists over 20 games this season. With Golden State’s interior taking a hit, Laeticia Amihere and Cecilia Zandalasini should see a lot of the frontcourt minutes against Dallas.

The Valkyries are rolling out a new starting lineup on Friday in response to their all-star forward, Kayla Thornton, undergoing season-ending knee surgery on Friday. Zandalasini will replace Thorthon in the opening unit to earn her third start of the season. A three-game losing streak has dropped the Valkyries to a 10-12 record on the season and out of playoff positioning. Zandalasini, Laeticia Amihere, and the rest of Golden State’s remaining frontcourt depth will have to rise to the occasion to replace Thornton’s production.

After her first All-Star Game appearance, Thornton injured her knee in one of the Valkyries’ first practices out of the break. While the team did not reveal any specifics regarding the injury, the forward underwent season-ending surgery on Friday. Losing Thornton is a critical hit to Golden State’s playoff chances, but head coach Natalie Nakase has not hesitated to go deep into her bench this season. Cecilia Zandalasini, Janelle Salaün and Monique Billings will have added importance, and rotation minutes will also be available for new addition Iliana Rupert.

Despite scoring 10 points during the first half of Wednesday’s game, Salaün only logged 14 minutes in the 67-58 defeat, including three after halftime. This may be an instance in which head coach Natalie Nakase’s willingness to use her bench is a negative for fantasy managers, as 11 players saw action, with nine logging at least 12 minutes. Veronica Burton (8/8/4/0/1), Kayla Thornton (4/4/2/0/1) and Temi Fágbénlé (5/4/1/1/1 with one three-pointer) may be the safest fantasy options regarding playing time, but that may change in Salaün’s favor after the All-Star break. She’s one of the Valkyries who was away from the team for national team duties in June, so the time off may help.

Thornton had another quiet outing on Monday after an inefficient 10-point showing in a loss to the Aces. The 2025 All-Star mostly operated on the offensive end as a three-point shooter, where eight of her 12 total field goal attempts came. She unfortunately remained cold, though, and is now shooting 10-of-36 from deep over her last six games following Monday’s display. Thornton finished with under 10 points for just the third time all season but will have an opportunity on Wednesday against the Storm to head into the All-Star Break with some positive momentum.