Date, Time, Location: Friday, August 22nd, 7:00pm PDT, PHX Arena (Phoenix)
Broadcast Information: ION, WNBA League Pass (streaming), Audacy (radio)
The Golden State Valkyries start a two game road trip on Friday with a return trip to Phoenix to face the Mercury again. After a hard-fought loss at home, they will be hoping to end their losing streak and continue to hold their position in the playoff race. These away games will be right before a longer break ahead of the stretch run so the team may be tired now, but will look to continue to push with time for rest on the way. This game will be a full national broadcast on ION with streaming access for WNBA League Pass subscribers.
The Valkyries
The big question for Golden State is obviously going to be health after so many players missed the last game. Tiffany Hayes is expected to be able to return while Cecilia Zandalasini has already been ruled out for this game. It has not been determined whether Iliana Rupert will be able to return yet or not. Unfortunately, the injury list has a new name with Carla Leite also possibly missing the game with a foot injury. Kaila Charles will have had her latest contract expire before the game, but if the team still qualifies for a hardship exception, she would be able to re-sign.
The Opposition
While the Valkyries finally got an extra day of rest after a long stretch of games every other day, the Mercury will be coming off zero days of rest, finishing their road trip in Las Vegas today before returning home. It was a big loss for them so they were able to clear the bench for the end of the game. The other important news was that Kahleah Copper had to leave the game due to injury and it is too soon to know about her availability for the next game. Monique Akoa Makani returned to the starting lineup after playing the entire fourth quarter against the Valkyries. Phoenix had to make one roster decision after playing Golden State, opting to give former Stanford player Kiana Williams a contract for the rest of the season after her last available 7-day contract expired.
Leave a Reply