The expansion Valkyries continue to win games thanks to some unsung heroes.
Kate Martin Earns Praise From WNBA After Golden State Valkyries Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Normally, expansion teams in sports are pretty horrible during their inaugural season. But the WNBA's Golden State Valkyries have been surprisingly competitive this season.
On Thursday, they squeaked past the Washington Mystics, 68-67, giving them their second win in a row after ending a four-game losing streak. They now have a 13-13 record, which is the eighth-best mark in the league, which means if the playoffs started today, they would participate in them.
Golden State had two people in particular who stood out on Thursday.
Kate Martin had a solid performance
Kate Martin, Second-year guard Martin came off the bench and led Golden State with 14 points, shooting 4-of-10 from the field. She added five rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 23 minutes.
She struggled with her shooting in the fourth quarter as Golden State mustered just six points during that time and nearly blew what was once a 17-point lead. But her layup with 7:41 left in the period proved to be just enough insurance.
Martin was a second-round pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft after a nondescript college career at Iowa. She peaked at 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds a game in her last year there, but she had the good fortune of playing alongside Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, which allowed her to participate in back-to-back NCAA women's national championship games.
Veronica Burton filled up the stat sheet
Burton, a 5-foot-9 guard who was once the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 draft, was also instrumental in the Valkyries' win on Thursday. She scored 10 points and contributed 10 assists, seven rebounds and one block.
The WNBA gave Burton, as well as Martin, a shout-out on X for leading their team to victory.
This duo delivered.
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 1, 2025
Kate Martin and Veronica Burton stepped up to get it done in D.C! #WelcometotheWpic.twitter.com/4GQMdIl8Kn
After putting up meager stats in her first three years in the WNBA, Burton may be finding her game in 2025. So far this year, she's averaging 10.7 points, 5.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds a game.
The Valkyries are winning the old-fashioned way
As they're low on talent, as one would expect, the Valkyries have been relying on that old standby to win games: defense.
First-year coach Natalie Nakase has gotten them to dig in on that end of the floor, and as a result, they rank fourth in defensive rating and third in opponents' points per game. They also pound the boards, as evidenced by the fact that they're first in overall rebounding percentage.
No matter what a team's roster looks like, that is a winning formula that works in every arena. After all, it was good enough to give Golden State a 7-4 record in June and Nakase the WNBA Coach of the Month award.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
