When the lights got the brightest, the Valkyries didn’t blink.
Despite nearly unraveling at various points in the second half, Golden State found a way to deliver in the clutch as the Valkyries defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 89-81 in overtime.
“We didn’t play our greatest half. I thought we played very soft defensively, but we knew what level we had to get to,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “We could tell in both the third and fourth quarter, they had each other’s back. That’s what we’re trying to do. We got to continue to rely on each other and hold each other accountable. So that was really cool to see.”
Monday’s game had 14 late changes, many of which came in the second half. The Valkyries scored just one field goal in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, but strung together stops to withstand a combined 44 points from Los Angeles stars Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby.
“I think we improved a lot. I think this was a testament for us,” Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton said. “I’m proud of our team. We stuck together. We could have folded. … It just shows the testament to our growth and sticking together as a team.”
Here are three takeaways from Monday’s win:
Salaün finding her way
French rookie Janelle Salaün couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season after she posted double-figure scoring performances in three of her first four games.
But it looked as if teams started to key in on the three-level scorer as she shot just 38.4% from the field in the three games prior to Monday.
Against the Sparks, Salaün regained her rhythm.
Salaün totaled 21 points on 7 of 11 shooting while hitting three of her four 3-point attempts. She played a season-high 39 minutes and had a plus-minus rating of +17 when she was on the floor.
“I think it’s harder when you get to this league. I think you don’t realize how physical and how hard it is to play every game,” Salaün said. “I think I hit a wall after my fourth game against Minnesota and yeah that was hard. The last couple games were hard for me, this one was as well. But it’s good in a way because I’m going to keep improving this.”
Carla Leite shines in bigger role
Fellow French rookie Carla Leite is only nine games into her WNBA career, but she has seemed real comfortable playing at Crypto.com Arena.
In the Valkyries’ road win against the Sparks three weeks ago, Leite scored 19 points on 70% shooting from the field in. Since then, Leite hasn’t found a consistent spot in Golden State’s rotation – logging an average of seven minutes a game. But she made the most of her opportunities on Monday.
Leite came off the bench and scored 15 points in 26 minutes. She closed the fourth quarter and made a key floater that tied the game with just under a minute left in regulation.
Leite said last month that she will not participate in EuroBasket, opening up opportunities for the 21-year-old point guard to log serious minutes in the next few weeks.
“Carla is a true pro,” Nakase said. “She knows when her name gets called, that’s what you see. You see someone who is confident. You see someone who controls the tempo, and you see someone that can get big stops.”
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The Valkyries announced on Tuesday that point guard Julie Vanloo will be leaving for Eurobasket.
Vanloo’s contract will temporarily be suspended until she is able to return to the team.
The Valkyries have been preparing for players to leave for this tournament since the beginning of the season.
“We have a plan. Same thing as the expansion draft, you have to be ready,” Nakase said. “We’re supporting them if they want to go to EuroBasket. We’re supporting them if they want to stay. I’ve been watching a ton of film on other players to be ready.”
Golden State has already made moves to the roster in anticipation of players leaving. After forward Cecilia Zandalasini left the Bay Area to report to Italy’s national team on Sunday, the Valkyries cut center Kyara Linskens and signed forward Laeticia Amihere.
Vanloo is averaging 4.6 points and 4.1 assists per game as the Valkyries back up point guard. She scored two points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out eight assists in Monday’s win.
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