SAN FRANCISCO — Veronica Burton made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:38 remaining and another with 29 seconds left on the way to 22 points and a 76-74 victory over the Washington Mystics — the Golden State Valkyries’ first win as an expansion franchise.
“These are the moments you don’t forget,” Burton told ESPN. “We’ve been in the gym working, training, and there’s been a lot of anticipation, a lot of build-up. … Just the emotions behind it, the feeling, [I’m] embracing this moment.”
CAREER NIGHT. CLUTCH FINISH. FRANCHISE FIRST. 💥
Veronica Burton delivered a career-high performance to lead the Valkyries to their first win in franchise history! She was dominant down the stretch and filled the stat sheet on both ends:
22 PTS | 14 PTS in 4Q | 9 REB | 5 AST |… pic.twitter.com/3CIzeW0uVZ
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 22, 2025
Burton has good reason to. The Newton native — daughter of WBZ’s Steve Burton and sister to Kayla on NBC Sports Boston — almost didn’t have a spot on the Valkyries roster.
Burton, who played in college at Northwestern and was drafted by Dallas in 2022, was cut by the Wings before the 2024 season.
The former Newton South star found a home with the Connecticut Sun midway through last season, and stuck around for the playoffs, averaging nearly 5 points in 19.3 minutes per game en route to the semifinals, where the Sun fell two wins short of a championship appearance.
She spent the winter playing in Australia, then was chosen in December’s expansion draft by the Valkyries (1-1).
And on Wednesday at the Chase Center, she recorded a career-high 22 points, to go with nine rebounds and five assists.
Kayla Thornton converted a four-point play with 1:03 left and scored 18 points for the Valkyries, cheered on by a dancing Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski among the raucous sellout crowd. Streamers rained down after the final buzzer sounded.
Sonia Citron’s 3 for Washington with 5 seconds left made it interesting.
Brittney Sykes scored 30 points and converted two free throws with 1:58 to play to put Washington ahead but the Valkyries knocked down all the big shots in the closing minutes after losing guard Tiffany Hayes to a nose injury late in the first half.
Burton banked in a Stephen Curry-like long 3-pointer to beat the halftime horn and put Golden State ahead 31-30 at the break.
Janelle Salaun scored 10 points and grabbed a key rebound in the waning moments while making her WNBA debut fresh off an Italian League title and Finals MVP honors for Beretta Famila Schio. Her 3-pointer with 2:07 in the first half was the team’s first after 17 misses from deep to start the game.
Hayes was helped off the court late in the second quarter and didn’t return after taking an arm to the face from Washington’s Shakira Austin and going down for several minutes.
She gave a thumbs up after she was helped off the court and went to the locker room with a towel pressed to her face.
Golden State, beginning its first season and playing at Chase Center that’s also home to the NBA Warriors, finished just 7 of 37 from long range.
Washington visits the Las Vegas Aces on Friday. The Valkyries begin their inaugural three-game road trip beginning Friday at the Los Angeles Sparks, who beat Golden State in its opener last Friday.
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