Veronica Burton highlighted a productive all-around effort with a game-high 17 points, Janelle Salaun led a relentless defense with three steals and the Golden State Valkyries ran their winning streak to seven with a 79-64 thumping of the Connecticut Sun on Friday night in Uncasville, Conn.

Salaun also tallied 16 points, a team-high seven rebounds and a block for the Valkyries (17-7), who improved to 4-0 on a five-game trip that ends Wednesday at Indiana.

Diamond Miller had 14 points, Olivia Nelson-Ododa 12, Aaliyah Edwards 11 and Charlisse Leger-Walker 10 for the Sun, who had won three of their previous five games. Leila Lacan ran up a game-high-tying six assists and Nelson-Ododa a game-high eight rebounds for Connecticut.

Despite playing without star Brittney Griner, out for a second straight game with strained right quad, the Sun (5-18) led 23-19 in the game’s 12th minute before Golden State tightened the defensive screws.

The hosts scored just two more points over the final 8:19 of the half — and a total of just six in the second period — as the Valkyries wrestled away the lead for good.

The margin was just five at 49-44 after a Nell Angloma interior hoop with 49.0 seconds left in the third quarter. But Burton converted a three-point play and a layup to double the margin by period’s end, after which Kaila Charles and Burton buried 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter, completing an 11-0 run that opened a 60-44 lead.

Taking over the chief scoring role in the absence of All-Star Gabby Williams, out with a bruised back, Burton also had six assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

Salaun’s three steals and Laeticia Amihere’s three blocks highlighted a defensive effort that saw the Valkyries force 22 Connecticut turnovers.

The 64 points were the lowest for the Sun in a home game this season and third-lowest at all sites. They shot just 41.4% overall and hit only four of their 16 3-point attempts.

Charles and Tiffany Hayes added nine points apiece and Kaitlyn Chen eight for the Valkyries, who shot 8 of 18 from beyond the arc and 51.7% overall.

–Field Level Media

Paige Bueckers scored 34 points with six rebounds and six assists as the visiting Dallas Wings defeated the Toronto Tempo 108-95 in Montreal.

Jessica Shepard added 20 points and 17 rebounds for the Wings (15-8), who have won four straight. Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 points and had seven assists as Dallas swept a four-game road trip that included two wins against the Tempo (9-13). Azzi Fudd scored 13 points and Alysha Clark scored 10 points.

The announced attendance of 20,996 is a record for a WNBA regular season game. The previous record of 20,711 was set in Washington in 2024.

Marina Mabrey scored 34 points for the Tempo, who have lost four in a row. Isabelle Harrison scored 18 points and Maria Conde had 12 points and nine assists.

Toronto led by one point going into the fourth quarter. Clark hit two consecutive 3-pointers to give Dallas a three-point lead with 7:42 to play in the fourth. Dallas used a 7-0 burst to take a six-point lead and command of the game with 5:56 to play. Clark’s layup increased the lead to nine with 3:43 left and Ogunbowale’s layup increased the margin to 13 with 1:50 to play.

Mabrey’s four 3-pointers and 17 points helped Toronto to a 33-25 lead after one quarter.

Juskaite’s 3-pointer bumped the lead to 13 with 7:40 to play in the second quarter. The Wings climbed back to within five on Fudd’s 3-pointer with 3:42 to play. Toronto led 56-52 at halftime.

Mabrey was limited to 1:58 and two points in the second quarter when she picked up her third foul and went to the bench.

Dallas scored the first five points of the third quarter to lead by one. The score was tied at 70 with 4:35 to play in the third after Mabrey and Bueckers exchanged 3-pointers. Odyssey Sims hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut Toronto’s lead to 85-84.

Toronto’s Nyara Sabally was out with an injured left knee to add to Toronto’s long injured list.

–Field Level Media

Elly De La Cruz and JJ Bleday homered, Hunter Greene tossed seven strong innings and the Cincinnati Reds opened a three-game series against the visiting Chicago Cubs with a 4-0 win on Friday.

De La Cruz hit a solo homer and tripled for Cincinnati, which out-hit the Cubs 13-4 and won for just the fourth time in its last 12 games. Bleday slugged a two-run homer and Spencer Steer had three hits.

Greene (1-1) yielded three hits and struck out 12 batters with one walk in his second start back from elbow surgery in March. He threw 68 of his 93 pitches for strikes.

Brock Burke and Emilio Pagan each pitched a scoreless inning to help Cincinnati complete its sixth shutout of the season.

Seiya Suzuki had two hits for Chicago, which struck out 16 times and was blanked for the ninth time this season.

De La Cruz ended Cincinnati’s 15-inning scoreless drought with a leadoff homer in the fifth inning against Shota Imanaga (5-8). The 400-foot liner was his 15th homer of the season.

Greene allowed just two hits through an efficient first six innings. The Cubs put two runners on with one out in the seventh before Nico Hoerner lined out and Michael Conforto struck out.

Imanaga allowed one run on seven hits over five innings while throwing a season-high 102 pitches. He walked one and struck out five.

The Reds were held scoreless in the sixth against Trent Thornton before tacking on three runs in the seventh.

Jake Woodford made his Cubs debut to start the seventh and allowed De La Cruz’s one-out triple. De La Cruz scored on Sal Stewart’s sacrifice fly and Steer singled in front of Bleday, who homered to right field.

Bleday’s 417-foot blast was his 15th homer of the season.

Steer made his first career start in center field for Cincinnati, which placed Matt McLain on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain prior to the game. Reds third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes was activated from the injured list and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

–Field Level Media