Storm look to avenge loss in rematch vs. Valkyries

The Seattle Storm will get an opportunity to add to an impressive list of revenge wins in the early WNBA season when they visit the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday night in San Francisco.

Kayla Thornton had 22 points as part of a double-double when the Valkyries surprised the visiting Storm 76-70 on June 14.

Golden State got a combined 30 points from two players who might not be available for the rematch. Temi Fagbenle, who had 16 points and seven rebounds in the win, has yet to play since returning from the EuroBasket tournament, while Carla Leite, the starting point guard that night, has missed the last three games with a back injury.

The Valkyries remain without three others who have participated in the World Cup qualifier in Greece, with Julie Vanloo having made it to Sunday's finals with Belgium, while Janelle Salaun (France) and Cecilia Zandalasini (Italy) will go head-to-head in Sunday's third-place game.

Golden State has since gotten Tiffany Hayes back from a nose injury. She contributed 13 points, five rebounds and four assists to Friday's 83-78 home win over the Chicago Sky.

Thornton led the way with a career-best 29 points as she continues to win over fans among her new teammates.

"I mean, it goes beyond basketball," Kate Martin assessed. "She's a tremendous person ... but also a phenomenal basketball player. You can learn a lot from KT and how she plays. I'm just really glad she's getting all the success that she's getting. She deserves it, and I'm thankful that I'm her teammate."

The Storm also added to their win total on Friday, rolling past the Connecticut Sun 97-81 in Seattle. Skylar Diggins had 24 points in the win.

Diggins was Seattle's top scorer in the earlier loss to the Valkyries with 21 points.

The Storm have had an opportunity to avenge three of their six losses, and they've been successful all three times, turning the tables on the Las Vegas Aces, Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury.

Seattle took a similar approach into Friday's game against the Sun, which was the club's first action since a disappointing 94-86 home loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday.

"We wanted to have a better effort than we did on Tuesday," Diggins assured. "We wanted to put this team away early."

The win was Seattle's fourth in five games since its last visit to San Francisco. At 10-6, the Storm are now 1.5 games ahead of the 8-7 Valkyries in the standings.

--Field Level Media