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 in their home openerSAN FRANCISCO — 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 nine rebounds but committed six of the 17 turnovers 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 …
