Valkyries 91, Storm 80 — Salaün career-high 5 threes, Magbegor out 6-8 weeks

The Valkyries opened Year 2 the way Year 1 ended — with the Bay Area on its feet. Golden State 91, Seattle 80, Friday night at Chase Center.

Janelle Salaün ran the show with 20 points and tied a career high with five 3-pointers. Veronica Burton added 16, Kaitlyn Chen scored all 14 of hers in the second half, Kayla Thornton chipped in 13. The Valkyries shot 41.9% overall and went 15-of-37 from deep — one short of the franchise three-point record they set last year. Up 49-41 at half, 69-53 after three, never let Seattle back in.

Dominique Malonga was Seattle's bright spot — 21 points, 8 rebounds, the youngest player in WNBA history to crack 200 career rebounds. But the bigger Storm news was the medical report: starter Ezi Magbegor is out 6-8 weeks with a right foot injury suffered while playing for Australia, and Seattle's already without Katie Lou Samuelson (knee). Golden State took its own hits — Tiffany Hayes (left pinky) and Cecilia Zandalasini (jaw) both went down in the first half and didn't return. Two teams limped out of opening night. One of them won.