The Valkyries had a perfect opportunity to clinch the No. 6 seed on Tuesday night against the Seattle Storm.
All they needed to do was win.
Golden State was in control for most of the game, but fell apart late as the expansion team’s hot shooting cooled down in the fourth quarter in a 74-73 loss on the road.
“It’s just disappointment in myself. I don’t think I handled the game schematically. I thought I could do a better job,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said.
Janelle Salaün led Golden State 22 points. Veronica Burton had 14 points and 11 assists in the loss. Kaila Charles added 12 points.
Former Stanford star Nneka Ogwumike led Seattle with 18 points. The Storm clinched their spot in the playoffs with a win and eliminated the Los Angeles Sparks from contention.
While they forced 13 turnovers and held Seattle to 40.1% shooting, the effort wasn’t good enough for the Valkyries.
“We lost, so it’s not good enough if we want to go far in the playoffs, if we want to be a contending team,” Burton said. “It’s a testament to our defense, but that’s who we are, like that’s expected from us. But then we should take it to the next level.”
Golden State looked poised to break away in the third quarter, taking a seven-point lead to open the second half. Seattle responded with a 7-0 run of their own, but a barrage of 3-pointers rebuilt the Valkyries’ advantage and pushed the visiting team’s lead to eight entering the fourth quarter.
But as the Valkyries started to pull away again, the Storm had another run in them, opening the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run.
After trading baskets in the final minutes, Golden State momentarily took a one-point lead after Iliana Rupert hit a left-wing 3-pointer with 37.4 seconds on the clock.
On the next possession, Storm guard Erica Wheeler hit a pull-up jumper to put Seattle up one.
With one last chance to tie or take the lead, Salaün missed a good look at the rim and a reload, stepback 3 as the Storm iced the game on the final possession.
The Valkyries led by three at halftime, buoyed by 12 first-half points from Charles. Despite shooting under 40% from the field, Golden State forced nine Seattle turnovers that turned into eight points.
The Valkyries will end the regular season on the road against the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday. Golden State will play its Game 1 of the first round on Sunday.
Here are the top takeaways from Tuesday’s loss:
Zandalasini returns
After missing the last eight games, sharpshooting forward Cecilia Zandalasini made her return on Tuesday.
Nakase said before the game that she wasn’t planning on playing Zandalasini heavy minutes. The leading coach of the year candidate stuck to her word.
Zandalasini only played five minutes in the first half and went 0-for-2 from the field.
“With a physical game, it was probably a tough game for her to come back in,” Nakase said. “I thought she was ready. I thought she did good. I just think, you know, we maybe just didn’t get her enough physical five-on-five prior to this.”
Charles providing scoring punch
Kaila Charles has been on a tear the last few weeks.
Since getting inserted into the starting lineup, the former University of Maryland standout has thrived in the backcourt with point guard Veronica Burton. While she believes she is a defense-first player, Charles hasn’t been afraid of taking shots.
On Tuesday, Charles hit 3-of-7 of her field goal attempts and hit all five of her free throws while taking on the assignment of guarding Storm sharpshooter Gabby Williams.
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