The Golden State Valkyries participated in a 95-77 blowout victory that saw them school the expansion side Portland Fire. After the game, guard Kayla Thornton revealed the team's secret recipe for a successful start to the new season.

"Being selfless. That's the number one thing that we stand on: playing for each other. When you do that, everything else kind of just falls into place," Thornton said postgame.

The Valkyries are currently on a 6-3 run and one of the top teams of the Western Conference, as team spirits are on an all-time high in just their second season in the WNBA.

"But when you have a group of women that just go out there and play for each other, it makes a difference. We don't have anybody out there trying to do their own and trying to get their own. But we're trying to get ours for each other, and that plays a big part." Thornton added.

The All-Star guard led the charge with 19 points, which included 5-of-10 from the three-point line. Janelle Salun was not far off with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, with three shots from deep.

We can see a pattern here, as both Thornton and Salun were highly efficient from outside the arc, and the same goes for the whole team.

This is because the Valkyries beat their franchise record for most three-pointers in a single game, and a team like that automatically becomes hard to beat for any opponent.

Golden State Valkyries Beat Their Own Three-Point Record in Win Over Portland

The Portland Fire got a first-hand exposure to offensive explosion, as the Valkyries went 18-of-40 from beyond the arc in the teams' Commissioner's Cup opener in San Francisco.

Thornton broke down postgame how the Valkyries were able to generate their open looks.

“The way that Portland was playing, they were giving up a lot of the weakside threes,” Thornton said. “We were just kind of reading that, and we're doing what the game was giving us.”

The Valkyries scored 12 three-pointers in the first half, just one shy of the WNBA record, as the Fire were outscored 35-16 in that stretch. In addition, their 56 points in the first half tied the second-most in any half in league history.

With such a dominant victory, the Valkyries are ready to face Olivia Miles and the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night at the Target Center, looking to extend their win record and gain valuable momentum against a proven heavyweight.

So, do you think the Golden State Valkyries can reach back-to-back playoffs? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Joy Bassy

Edited by

Joy Bassy