SAN FRANCISCO – Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase has made it known that she loathes the term “measuring stick” as a descriptor for any regular season game.
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Her ethos has long been that each opponent should be treated with equal seriousness. No matchup is worthy of more weight than any other. Every game matters equivalently.
But she made an exception for Wednesday night.
The Valkyries, freshly-guaranteed playoff participant and second seed if the postseason began on Wednesday, faced the only team that sat above them in the standings.
They entered Wednesday night 0-8 all-time against the Lynx: six consecutive regular season defeats sandwiching a two-game sweep in last year’s postseason.
The team, riding a six-game winning streak, knew what a win over Minnesota, itself a victor of four consecutive, would mean.
“It’s not a secret that we haven’t beat them yet, so with that, it definitely puts a little bit more on us,” Nakase said. “Plus, they’re No. 1, so yeah, it’s definitely a game that we want too.”
Nakase the Valkyries (25-10) learned there is, indeed, levels between the one standing atop the mountain and its challenger as the Lynx (30-7) weathered an Olivia Miles injury and a Valkyries rally to beat Golden State 77-66 and snap the home team’s six-game winning streak.
Veronica Burton scored 14, Tip Hayes and Janelle Salaun combined for 27 off the bench. Olivia Miles put in 20 points and had seven assists before her injury, and Napheesa Collier scored 18.
After trailing by 21 early in the third quarter, the Valkyries worked their way back into the game with an 11-0 that spanned the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters. But after cutting the deficit to just seven, Kayla McBride and the Lynx hit enough timely shots to keep Golden State at bay.
The Valkyries offense took a while to get going, but the rotations were playoff-esque from the start. Gabby Williams and Miles each played the entire first quarter, which saw the Lynx lead 21-13 after the Valkyries went just 4 of 17 from the field and 1 of 6 from behind the arc. Golden State only gave eight players — Salaun, Hayes and Charles — heavy minutes off the bench.
Playing against an unbreakable Lynx defensive shell, the methodical Valkyries offense showed its worst habits.
Bobbled passes, possessions where the ball never touched the paint and a parade of contested shots that had no chance of going in.
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While Collier poured in 12 first half points and Miles cruised to five assists in the first half, the Valkyries trailed 41-26 at halftime. Playing in front of their vaunted home crowd, they went 9 of 37 from the field en route to their lowest point total in any first half.
Olivia Miles scored two quick buckets and dimed up Natasha Howard for the first six points of the half to push the lead to 21. Behind a slew of Burton buckets, the Valkyries were able to slim the disadvantage to 54-41 by the end of the third quarter.
The Valkyries will play at Chicago on Friday.
Guarding Collier
Playing her 10th game of the season since returning from a severe left ankle injury, Collier looked all the way back early on.
Whether it was Kayla Thornton, Gabby Williams or Janelle Salaun, the player guarding the all-WNBA player made little difference when she went to work in the post. A methodical backdown, a few fakes and half-spins and a soft short turnaround jumper was almost always the result of the Lynx’s favorite play.
The Valkyries had no answer in the first half, but a combination of tighter defense and possibly tired legs saw those effortless makes turn into clanks. She did not score a point in the second half until the four minute mark. She put in six points in the fourth.
Olivia Miles injured
With 4:37 left in the fourth quarter, superstar rookie Olivia Miles crumpled on the baseline for several minutes before walking to the bench under her own power and going back to the bench. She appeared to tweak her left ankle and was worked on by team medical personnel after making it to the bench.
That brought what had been a fun duel to an end.
Two of the best point guards in the league matched up on national television for much of the night. On one side was star newcomer Olivia Miles, the runaway favorite to win the rookie of the year award after being the No. 3 pick in the draft out of TCU. On the other side was veteran floor general and team captain Veronica Burton.
Miles drew several oohs and ahhs from a hostile crowd with her deft passing, including a pinpoint behind-the-back for a Kayla McBride triple. Burton was not nearly as flashy, but still found ways to score against a stingy Minnesota defense, pulling the Valkyries within single digits while playing every minute of the second half.
Small protest
A group of around 10 ant-transgender protesters gathered outside of Chase Center before Wednesday night’s game. Opposing them were members of Rainbow Families, an organization that supported transgender people.
Both coaches – Natalie Nakase of the Valkyries and Cheryl Reeve of the Lynx – voiced their support of transgender individuals during their respective pregame press conferences.
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