Sun, Valkyries enter matchup heading in opposite directions

Field Level Media|published: Sat 21st June, 20:17 2025

Jun 9, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase celebrates after the game against the LA Sparks at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Connecticut Sun and host Golden State Valkyries come into their meeting on Sunday in San Francisco on much different trajectories.

The expansion Valkyries (6-6) responded to a sluggish first month of the season, rebounding from a 2-5 start to win four of their last five. In its most recent outing -- an 88-77 defeat of the Indiana Fever on Thursday -- Golden State held superstar Caitlin Clark to just 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting.

Key to Golden State's defensive effort against Indiana was Laeticia Amihere, whose four blocked shots bumped her season average to 1.7 per game through her first three games with the team.

"She has that Kobe (Bryant) mentality face. She never smiles throughout the game," Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said of Amihere. "I love that killer instinct she brings."

Amihere is also scoring 8.7 points per game, making her one of eight Valkyries contributing at least 8.6 points while playing in two or more contests. Kayla Thornton's 14.8 ppg paces the balanced Golden State offense.

As the Valkyries look to continue their winning trend, the Sun pay their first-ever visit to the Bay Area trying to end a five-game skid.

Connecticut (2-11) got 26 points from Tina Charles on Friday, the team's last home date before embarking on a four-game road swing. However, it was not enough as the Sun fell to Dallas 86-83.

With the defeat, Connecticut heads into its road trip alone at the bottom of the WNBA standings.

While the 2025 campaign has been trying for the Sun, one recent positive development they will look to expand on is the growth of rookie forward Aneesah Morrow. A standout in college at DePaul and LSU, Morrow has put together back-to-back double-figure-scoring performances in her best professional performances to date.

She scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds on Wednesday vs. Phoenix, then went for 10 points and seven rebounds Friday.

"It's hard for her because she's undersized, but every time she has a player like her with the same profile in front of her, I know she can do a great job," Connecticut coach Rachid Meziane said via the Hartford Courant. "She showed me, ‘Hey Coach, you can trust me.' So this is good."

--Field Level Media