The Golden State Valkyries hit the road for one final time on Wednesday before getting more than a week off before their next game after the All Star Break. It was another tough contest for the team when they visited a Seattle team that was looking to avenge a pair of losses in San Francisco. The game ended up being a battle between stingy defensive teams and it was the Storm that got the advantage in the second half and the 67-58 win. While there may have been moral victories early in the season, this was another loss that was harder to swallow in a string of recent defeats and the team will look to regroup during the break.
The Lineup
Golden State had all of their players available for this game and were able to field the same starting lineup for the third game in a row. The experimentation continued though with all eleven players getting their chance in a close game. With the Valkyries playing smallball lineups for essentially the entire game, the Seattle Storm were able to avoid playing their backup centers and leaned on their eight veterans with Lexie Brown healthy enough to play again.
First Quarter
The first point of the game was scored in a fashion that is starting to become a familiar negative for the Valkyries after their sagging defense had one of their players get caught lingering in the paint for three seconds without guarding anyone, resulting in a Seattle free throw. Temi Fagbenle opened the scoring for Golden State on a nifty feed on the next trip down the floor, but the Storm scored the next three baskets to force an early timeout. The script continued to follow the previous game when the Valkyries went on an 11-0 run, including three-pointers by Carla Leite and Fagbenle. Seattle responded, taking the lead back with a Lexie Brown three-pointer, but Cecilia Zandalasini made it a successful quarter from distance on the next possession for a 15-14 Valkyries lead at the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter
Kaitlyn Chen entered the game in the first quarter after missing out in the last game and scored to start this period. Seattle scored on their next five possessions with Gabby Williams and Nneka Ogwumike providing all of the points, but the Valkyries had enough success on offense to keep pace. Kayla Thornton got the lead back after the midway point, but Ezi Magbegor hit a three-pointer to answer. Janelle Salaun scored the last five points for Golden State, including their lone three-pointer, but Tiffany Mitchell responded from distance to leave the score tied at 31.
Third Quarter
Erica Wheeler built the lead back for Seattle with two consecutive three-pointers and another early basket, but Janelle Salaun scored four more points for Golden State. The Valkyries then went on a four minute scoring drought, but managed to limit the Storm to only three points from free throws during that stretch. Cecilia Zandalasini finally broke through for the Golden State, but Wheeler converted a three-point play. Laeticia Amihere saw her first action in this quarter and scored four points and Kate Martin hit the team’s only three-pointer of the quarter to leave the Valkyries trailing 48-44 heading into the final frame.
Fourth Quarter
Seattle was able to extend their lead early from the free throw line, but consecutive three-pointers from Tiffany Hayes and Cecilia Zandalasini trimmed the deficit back to a single basket for Golden State. The Valkyries defense continued to limit the chances for the Storm, but another scoring drought of over four minutes prevented them from getting any closer. Veronica Burton, who ended up making the team’s last field goal halfway through the period, finally hit a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left, but it was far too late after Nneka Ogwumike scored seven points for Seattle during their own tough stretch. The Storm were sent to the line to extend the game late and made all six attempts for the 67-58 final margin.
The Verdict
After a tough loss, but an excellent shooting display on Monday, there was some expectation that the shooting rhythm would continue after a solid first quarter. The overall offensive woes continued though and the shooting numbers dipped, meaning that a good defensive performance that really limited Seattle from doing what they wanted to do was not enough to get a win.
After this stretch of games with limited days off, the week of rest could help the team get ready to attack the second half of the season, especially as the last roster spot gets filled. All of the data from recent games will help the coaching staff make some decisions on the rotation with so many different lineups tried recently. A fifth loss in six games really blunts the team’s momentum at the halfway point of the season though, especially as results elsewhere dropped the Valkyries below the playoff spots in addition to giving them a losing record.
Player of the Game
For this game, the award will go to Cecilia Zandalasini, who was the leading scorer for the Valkyries on a tough day for the team on offense. Her recent performances are starting to show that she could be returning to the form that she showed before leaving the team to star for Italy’s national team after she was slowly worked back into the rotation on her return. She has been trusted with crunch time minutes again while being asked to take on tough defensive assignments in smallball lineups.
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