The Golden State Valkyries picked up a big road win Wednesday by taking charge in the second quarter and keeping their foot on the gas for a 80-61 win over the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Valkyries improved to 10-9 after losing the first two games of a four-game road trip in Minnesota and Atlanta. Now 3-6 on the road, it was the first win outside the state of California for Golden State, which counted its first two road victories against the Sparks in Los Angeles.

The WNBA leader in field goal percentage defense, Golden State held Indiana to 21-for-68 shooting (30.9 percent) and 6-for-27 on 3-point attempts. The 61 points was the lowest point total a Golden State opponent has had all season.

“Overall we played team basketball today and I think that’s something we’ve been missing,” coach Natalie Nakase said. “We played team defense. I’d say the last two games it got a little individual. Credit to our players, just being coachable, coachable, coachable.”

For Indiana, 9-10, it was the second state loss to the Valkyries, losing 88-77 at Chase Center on June 19.

Veronica Burton led the Valkyries with 21 points including a career-high five 3-point baskets in six attempts. All-Star Kayla Thornton missed her first six shots but came on strong in the second half and finished with 18 points including four 3-pointers as the Valkyries had 12 in all.

Indiana’s Caitlin Clark, who had missed the previous five games with a groin injury, struggled again against Golden State. She finished with 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting to go along with five rebounds, six assists and four turnovers. Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 12 points and Makayla Timpson had 10.

“Coming in with two losses, we knew we had to come in really locked in and come in with a great defensive game plan,” guard Kate Martin told KPIX on the Valkyries post-game show. “I thought we executed well tonight. We covered for each other a lot. We were on the same page. If someone got beat we were always there to help each other.”

Golden State outrebounded Indiana 47-36 including an 11-7 advantage on the offensive boards.

“We’re not the biggest team, but we’ve got big hearts,” Thornton said. “We did a good job walling up and playing without fouling.”

Burton’s fourth 3-pointer of the game put Golden State up 64-50, with Mitchell of Indiana hitting one of two free throws after being fouled for a 64-51 margin after three quarters.

“It takes all of us, from the bench to the starters to the coaching staff,” Burton said. “We played a 40-minute game.”

Golden State finished with a flourish in the first half with an 18-2 run and took a 41-32 lead into intermission, outscoring Indiana 20-9 in the second quarter. They had fallen behind by as much as 12 points in the first half during a noon start in an eastern time zone.