Date, Time, and Location: Wednesday, July 8th, 4:00pm, Coca-Cola Coliseum (Toronto)
Broadcast Information: KPIX (San Francisco Bay Area) and KOVR (Sacramento Area) and KION (Monterey Bay Area), TSN (opposition’s broadcast area), WNBA League Pass (streaming outside of teams’ broadcast areas)
The Golden State Valkyries continue their road trip on Wednesday, facing the Toronto Tempo for the first time ever. Toronto was the next expansion team announced after the Valkyries and have been looking to have the same kind of success in their inaugural season. They currently sit just outside the last playoff spot and it will be tough to continue the road momentum for the Valkyries with all of the quick travel between games. In addition to the usual broadcasts in the United States, this game will be shown nationally in Canada.
The Valkyries
There is no news on the initial injury report for the Valkyries, but there was no such luck for the Tempo. Temi Fagbenle missed the last game with a concussion and will also be out for this one, meaning that she will not get to face her previous team. Maria Conde has been in the starting lineup for them after she was selected from Golden State in the expansion draft. She will get to face the team having missed out on any chance of playing for them last year due to injury. Mariella Fasoula had signed to one of their developmental player spots after being waived by the Valkyries, but was released after appearing in three games. Laeticia Amihere gets to return to her hometown area for the game.
The Opposition
Besides Maria Conde, Toronto only has three players on their roster from the expansion draft process, their first three selections. Julie Allemand was picked first to give them a steady point guard and she missed the last game, but is not on the initial injury report for this matchup. Nyara Sabally was picked next with her existing experience with head coach Sandy Brondello, giving them a presence at center. They used their only unrestricted free agent selection on Marina Mabrey to be their primary scorer and she has delivered so far. Two players who were entry draft selections are on the roster, but Kiki Rice is set to miss this game with an injury while Teonni Key has been providing depth in the frontcourt.
The team was looking to compete immediately by bringing in a coach with extensive experience in the league and they were aggressive in free agency. Brittney Sykes was their big signing as a strong two-way wing, but she will miss this game due to injury. Isabelle Harrison added to their frontcourt while also having previous experience with the coaching staff. Kia Nurse was the last player with experience in the league as they brought in at least one Canadian for the season.
The Tempo went with older international players to fill out their roster instead of younger rookies. Lithuanian Laura Juskaite has made the biggest impact at forward having gone undrafted back in 2017. Tima Pouye started at guard in the last game after not being drafted in 2019 in an era where international picks were not quite as valued. Their latest backcourt signing from France is Ornella Bankole, who was signed to a developmental player spot before the last game and made her debut immediately. She has worked her way into a bigger role in the basketball world, lately in the Spanish league, and was not drafted in 2017.
Toronto has been hovering around an even record this season, but have lost their last two games to fall a season-high two points below that mark. This is their fourth game in a row as the home team as they started with their biggest scoring game so far against Los Angeles. They then lost to Phoenix while playing in a bigger arena in Toronto and will continue this nine-game homestand away from their main venue after this game with two dates in Montreal. Their last game was on Sunday against Dallas. As suggested by their name, the team has had no reluctance when it comes to playing fast and trying to prevail in high-scoring games.
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