If UTEP fans needed a reason to tune into the WNBA playoffs this October, Kayla Thornton has been providing one on a near-nightly basis.
The Miners alumna and Golden State Valkyries forward has turned in one of her most productive stretches of the season during the week of Oct. 4–10, anchoring a Valkyries squad that swept a three-game set against the Las Vegas Aces. Thornton's fingerprints were all over the run.
Saturday's Signature Night
The peak came Saturday, Oct. 10, when Thornton dropped 18 points and hauled in 9 rebounds in Golden State's 87–77 victory over Las Vegas. The eye-catching footnote: a +16 plus-minus that underscored just how dominant the Valkyries were when she was on the floor. That kind of two-way impact — scoring, rebounding, and visibly tilting the game's balance — is precisely what Golden State has been asking from Thornton, and she delivered in full.
Building the Momentum
The Saturday performance didn't come out of nowhere. Two days earlier, on Oct. 8, Thornton had scored 16 points in an 83–81 nail-biter against the same Aces squad. Golden State escaped with the two-point win, and Thornton's scoring output was central to keeping the Valkyries afloat in a game that could have gone either way.
Open the week at Oct. 4, Thornton's points didn't lead the stat sheet — she scored 8 — but her 11 rebounds in a 71–60 Golden State win showed the kind of gritty, floor-stretching effort that sets up easy scoring nights later. Across the three-game stretch, she was the connective tissue.
What It Means for UTEP
Thornton is the lone Miners representative active in the WNBA right now, and she's making it count. Over these three games, she averaged 14 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest — numbers that place her squarely among the more productive forwards in the league during this window. For a UTEP program that has quietly built a reputation as a pipeline for tough, versatile pros, Thornton is a living advertisement.
The Valkyries, meanwhile, look like a team peaking at the right moment. A clean sweep of Las Vegas — a perennial contender — is no small feat, and Thornton's contributions along the boards and in the scoring column were instrumental in all three outcomes.
UTEP faithful have followed Thornton's pro journey closely since her days in El Paso, and this week offered a reminder that the best chapters of that story may still be unfolding.
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