Justė Jocytė debuts, Cecilia Zandalasini returns as Valkyries rout Connecticut
The Golden State Valkyries returned Monday to Chase Center with a 97-70 win over the Connecticut Sun in which Jocytė, their prized 6-foot rookie, made her debut violet and black. Zandalisini returned from her concussion after missing Golden State's previous four games and Williams keyed the beatdown - and the crowd - with a team-high 15 points.
Kaila Charles added 12 points and seven rebounds as the Valkyries matched a WNBA record with 12 scorers in a single game.
"Whoever scored, whoever made a basket, whoever got a rebound or a block - we were celebrating each other," Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said. "It didn't matter who scored, who had the assist. And that's what I genuinely felt tonight is that everyone was proud of each other."
Ballhalla faithful were eager to welcome the Valkyries (4-2) back from their two-game trip, roaring as Williams scored 10 first-quarter points and as Zandalasini buried her first 3-pointer. The lane was open for dribble penetration and mostly closed for Connecticut (1-7), which shot 38.6% with 18 turnovers (for 24 points) against Golden State's cohesive defense.
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A 47-30 halftime lead stretched to 29 points in the third quarter, prompting Jocytė - the No. 5 overall draft pick in 2025 who played last season in Spain - to leave her post on the bench for the exercise bike in the tunnel. Having practiced twice for Golden State, she debuted Monday with 4:48 to play - bringing much of the sellout crowd of 18,064 to its feet.
"I think I was ready," Jocytė said, ensuring as much by jogging down the baseline between the third and fourth quarters. As Jocytė prepared, the house lights dimmed, music blared and spectators speckled in violet and black danced. "I don't really feel pressure that much (because) those kind of games I played a bunch of in my life. But it was really fun to do it in this atmosphere."
Valkyries 97, Sun 70
FG
FT
Reb
CONNECTICUT
Min
M-A
M-A
O-T
A
PF
PTS
Burke
19:46
1-3
1-2
0-2
0
0
3
Miller
16:32
0-3
4-4
0-1
0
2
4
Edwards
20:55
3-8
2-2
1-5
0
2
8
Kneepkens
11:32
2-2
2-2
1-1
1
2
6
Leger-Walker
18:38
3-5
1-2
0-3
2
4
9
Morrow
22:33
4-8
2-4
3-10
2
1
11
Rivers
21:49
0-8
2-2
1-3
0
4
2
Van Lith
20:22
2-7
1-1
0-2
2
0
5
Angloma
14:28
2-4
1-2
1-1
0
2
6
Jackson
14:20
2-3
0-2
0-1
1
0
6
Nelson-Ododa
12:20
2-5
3-4
1-1
5
6
7
Beers
6:46
1-1
1-1
0-3
0
3
3
Totals
200:00
22-57
20-28
8-33
13
26
70
Percentages: FG .386, FT .714.
3-Point Goals: 6-18, .333 (Jackson 2-3, Leger-Walker 2-3, Angloma 1-2, Morrow 1-3, Burke 0-1, Edwards 0-1, Miller 0-2, Rivers 0-3).
Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: None.
Blocked Shots: 4 (Nelson-Ododa 2, Edwards, Rivers).
Turnovers: 18 (Edwards 3, Miller 3, Angloma 2, Burke 2, Leger-Walker 2, Nelson-Ododa 2, Rivers 2, Beers, Morrow).
Steals: 9 (Burke 2, Beers, Edwards, Jackson, Kneepkens, Miller, Rivers, Van Lith).
Technical Fouls: Nelson-Ododa, 1:02 first; Morrow, 00:00 third.
FG
FT
Reb
GOLDEN STATE
Min
M-A
M-A
O-T
A
PF
PTS
Thornton
16:26
1-6
2-2
1-8
2
3
5
Williams
17:44
6-10
0-0
0-2
1
0
15
Stokes
13:28
0-2
1-2
0-1
1
4
1
Burton
17:13
4-6
1-1
1-2
6
3
11
Charles
21:27
5-8
0-1
2-7
0
0
12
Salaun
26:24
3-13
2-4
1-4
2
5
9
Chen
22:47
3-5
4-4
2-2
2
3
10
Amihere
18:54
3-5
3-5
2-4
3
1
9
Hayes
16:45
3-7
3-3
0-2
3
2
9
Zandalasini
13:45
2-5
0-1
0-1
1
1
6
Mwenentanda
5:31
0-1
0-0
1-1
1
1
0
Jocyte
4:48
2-2
0-0
0-0
2
2
5
Prechtel
4:48
2-3
0-0
0-0
0
0
5
Totals
200:00
34-73
16-23
10-34
24
25
97
Percentages: FG .466, FT .696.
3-Point Goals: 13-33, .394 (Williams 3-5, Burton 2-2, Charles 2-2, Zandalasini 2-4, Jocyte 1-1, Prechtel 1-2, Thornton 1-4, Salaun 1-9, Chen 0-1, Mwenentanda 0-1, Hayes 0-2).
Team Rebounds: 13. Team Turnovers: None.
Blocked Shots: 2 (Amihere 2).
Turnovers: 11 (Salaun 3, Charles 2, Thornton 2, Zandalasini 2, Chen, Jocyte).
Steals: 7 (Thornton 3, Charles 2, Salaun, Stokes).
Technical Fouls: None.
Connecticut
22
8
18
22
-
70
Golden State
27
20
26
24
-
97
A: 18,064 (18,064).
Her first possession: a curl around a screen via a baseline out-of-bounds play into an open 12-footer. Catch, shoot, swish - 405 days after she was drafted.
Followed later by a catch-and-shoot triple and rhythmic reads in Golden State's offense.
"All the fans, they are so loud. I've been to New York and Indiana and the fans cannot compare to be honest," she added. "… You don't have this in Europe. You don't have this in a lot of WNBA arenas. … It's just really nice to have them."
Bound to a minutes restriction, per Nakase, Jocytė finished her WNBA debut with five points and two assists while Stanford alumnus Ashten Prechtel - a third-round draft pick in 2023 for the Sun - debuted with three points.
Jocytė expressed an eagerness to build on the confidence she garnered Monday: "It's really hard to be a new player on a team that already has structure and has (been) playing and has (had) training camp and everything. It's really hard to fit in to the rhythm. Those are going to be the next steps for me."
Williams isn't concerned one iota.
"Watching her go out, bragging about her, telling everybody how good she's going to be when she gets here - her knocking down her first shot three seconds on the court," Williams said. "Then comes and knocks down a 3. Then you see her court vision. This is just like a glimpse of what she's capable of."
Golden State next plays Thursday against the Indiana Fever at Chase Center.
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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 2:14 AM.