How a crushing last-minute loss shapes the Valkyries’ playoff outlook

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SEATTLE — Heads down and frustration heavy after a one-point loss, the Valkyries left the court Tuesday slipping past the Storm’s playoff-clinching celebration. Now, it’s on to Minnesota. 

But for how long?

The Valkyries (23-20) head to the home of WNBA’s best team Thursday for their final regular-season game, one with significant ramifications for their playoff path. A win over the Lynx, who have defeated Golden State three times this season (most recently 78-72 in the Chase Center finale last weekend), would secure the No. 6 seed and set up a first-round matchup with either Las Vegas or Atlanta as the No. 3 seed. A loss, however, would drop the Valkyries to No. 8, lengthening their stint in Minnesota and setting up an opening-round matchup with the top-seeded Lynx. 

Golden State coach Natalie Nakase, who approaches every game with a must-win mentality, baked in what’s at stake Thursday night in her team’s approach just one game removed from the postseason.

“Rhythm and rest, to me, are the biggest keys right now to go into the playoffs. And just our lock-in factor of what it takes to play in a playoff game — today it did feel like that with the physicality and the crowd,” Nakase said. “To me, it’s really the rest, so however best I can do that. I have to be very intentional within the next 48 hours.” 

To point guard Veronica Burton, preparing for the rematch with Minnesota will be all about “controlling the controllables” and keeping the team’s connected play through yet another elite defense in the No. 1 Lynx. 

“Obviously it’s important for seedings,” said Burton, frustrated after the loss. “We have to be on the same page about it and get the job done.” 

Led by Kaila Charles’ 12 points and nine from Temi Fágbénlé, Golden State trudged through a fast-paced, physical first half in Seattle to scrap together a 36-33 advantage at the half Tuesday. After holding the Storm to just 12 points in the opening quarter, the Valkyries’ offense stumbled early in the second, rattled by a string of shot-clock violations and late-clock one-on-one desperation attempts as Seattle’s physical defense disrupted their usual go-to drive-and-kick rhythm. 

The third frame was a highlight for the visitors — after the Storm reclaimed a lead 50-47, Golden State responded with a Janelle Salaün-fueled 13-0 answer for a 10-point lead. But that momentum didn’t quite translate into the fourth, when they were outscored 12-21 and subjected to Erica Wheeler’s hot hand for the Storm. She knocked in three triples in the frame and iced what would be a game-clinching midrange pull-up jumpshot to hand Seattle a one-point lead with under 20 seconds remaining. 

The Valkyries then used a reset timeout to advance the ball into their halfcourt — and put Salaün, who has several crunch-time daggers to her name this season, in charge. Kate Martin grabbed an offensive board after Salaün missed her contested driving layup attempt and kicked it back out to the French rookie, who had mobilized to her corner sweet-spot. Salaün didn’t get the bounce and sent Seattle into a frenzy as it locked down a playoff berth. 

Salaün recorded a sneaky career-high 22 points in the one-point defeat, and Burton finished with a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists. Fágbénlé was reliable through the physicality on both ends all night.

Nakase placed blame on her own shortcomings “schematically” postgame. Her team had little show of their depth, with only five bench points for the night, courtesy of Monique Billings. Charles and Martin were interchanged through the end-of-game push, but neither provided much of a spark offensively in the second half. And logging under 10 minutes for the second game in a row now, Carla Leite did not make her usual impact off the bench and was ultimately used only sparingly in the first-half rotation. 

Despite a fierce defensive effort that helped the Valkyries extend their lead to 10 points in the third quarter, the only silver lining for Burton is that this outcome didn’t happen in the playoffs.

“It was good, but we lost. So it’s not good enough if we want to go far in the playoffs and be a contending team. It’s just the little things, the little possessions,” the point guard said of the team’s defensive performance. 

One positive for the disappointed Valkyries should be the promise of health on the horizon. Cecila Zandalasini ditched street clothes for a game uniform and was back in action for the first time in three weeks — albeit for only an anti-climatic five minutes. 

The sharpshooter, who had been averaging 11.2 points per game and shooting from 3-point range at 43.5% until a calf injury saw her vanish from Golden State’s starting lineup, was announced as a “game-time” decision a couple of hours before tipoff. Nakase limited her minutes, but nonetheless, easing a healthy Zandalasini back into Golden State’s rotation could make for a timely boost heading into the playoffs. 

“Obviously, with the physical game, it was probably a tough game to get her back in. But I thought she was ready; I thought she did good. I think we maybe just didn’t give her enough physical five-on-five prior to this. That’s on me, I have to do a better job of preparing her for that situation.”