Game Recap: Regular Season Game 7 vs Phoenix Mercury

The Golden State Valkyries returned to action on Thursday when they visited the Phoenix Mercury, trying snap a losing streak after three games against tough opponents. The hosts were quite shorthanded, but had been getting contributions from their healthy players all season. Golden State started better, but Phoenix took the lead by the end of the first quarter. The Valkyries continued to trail for most of the second quarter, managing to grab the lead right before halftime. The second half started quite close, but Golden State was able to build a lead in the fourth quarter only to fade down the stretch, losing 86-77.

The Lineup

Tiffany Hayes ended up not being available for this game after leaving the last game and the Valkyries were forced into yet another starting lineup change. Cecilia Zandalasini took her place in the lineup alongside Veronica Burton, Kayla Thornton, Janelle Salaun, and Temi Fagbenle. Lots of players saw time early again and Golden State tried a smallball lineup to start the second quarter with none of their centers on the court.

First Quarter

The game started off rather inauspiciously when it had to be restarted completely after one possession because the teams had been set up in the wrong directions to start the game. The teams both took a couple of minutes to settle back in and Veronica Burton opened the scoring. Cecilia Zandalasini got on the board early after starting and then the game had to be paused early again. Veronica Burton gave Golden State a 6 point lead twice, including by converting a four-point play, but Phoenix went on a 10-0 run to lead for the for the rest of the quarter.

Second Quarter

Phoenix extended their lead to 8 with a three-pointer to open the quarter, but the Valkyries kept pace and took the lead at the end with a pair of Veronica Burton free throws. Neither team was able to get into much of a flow with both sides having double digit turnovers in the first half, but long-range shooting was working for both teams. Burton led the Valkyries with 10 points while Temi Fagbenle scoring all of her points in this quarter after reentering the game.

Third Quarter

Both teams had success early with scoring in the second half after settling down more and neither team could get much of a lead in this period and the score was tied again at the end. After a solid performance beyond the arc in the first half, Golden State missed all of their long-distance shots in this quarter, but still found a way to get the ball inside and have their highest scoring quarter of the game.

Fourth Quarter

The Valkyries were able to take a lead early in the final frame with some excellent work beyond the arc, including Julie Vanloo getting fouled on an attempt and knocking down all three free throws. The smaller lineup was deployed in the first portion of the quarter again and did their job as the lead moved back up to 8 with four minutes to play. Unfortunately, the team was not able to hit a field goal for the rest of the game and the Mercury closed on a 18-1 run to secure the win. The hosts were looking for a second player to step up in this game and it was Lexi Held who came off their bench to be the leading scorer as she was the only player on either team to play the entire quarter.

The Verdict

While this was certainly a tough game on paper, the Valkyries had to feel that there was an opportunity to get a win in this game with injuries leaving their opponents short on experience. The team did well to build a lead in the fourth quarter, but the problems on both ends of the court late meant that a solid lead was lost and the team did not have any way of getting back on track. With this chance to end this losing streak gone, Golden State has a very short turnaround before they host the Las Vegas Aces in another tough game.

Player of the Game

It was a relatively balanced scoring effort for the team in this game with a number of players chipping in this time. The award for this game will go to Temi Fagbenle as she continues to be one of the most important players for this team. Golden State’s roster does not have the height of some other teams and Fagbenle has been relied on to be the main player in the post, drawing tough defensive assignments while being relied on to finish in the paint and stretch the floor in the team’s offensive scheme. She had a double-double in this game with 12 points and 11 rebounds.