SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Valkyries rarely win games from lighting up the scoreboard. They’d rather muck up a low-scoring, tight defensive game, like Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream.
But in Game 2, the Valkyries offense was nearly non-existent. The Valkyries shot 34.4% in the 79-65 loss.
They had flashes of hope with three 3-pointers from Kaila Charles off the bench and 14 points from Tiffany Hayes and even a handful of baskets from Kaitlyn Chen. But when the starting lineup shoots 25.7%, it’s almost impossible to make up for that.
“We also shot terribly,” said Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton. “We missed shots that we make all the time. That happens and that’s where we have to lock in on the defensive end and make it way more difficult, but it’s a series for a reason.”
Angel Reese scored 30 points and the Valkyries starters combined for just 32.
“Both teams are defending at a really high level with a really high intensity,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said. “So you know, you may rush your shot. They are closing out hard. It could be a lot of factors. Maybe just both teams are settling in.”
They had turnover issues, too, with a season-high 19 giveaways while Atlanta had the free throw advantage 35-19, but even a little more consistency on offense would make a difference.
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“We were just a little too loose with the ball. Obviously that’s what they’re known for and we’re known for the opposite,” Burton said. “We had a lot of times where we were hesitant or we weren’t on the same page and that’s where it led to turnovers.”
This is a Valkyries team that relies on its defense first, and they can still do that with some more results on the other end of the floor. It doesn’t help that Janelle Salaun, their second leading scorer and the league’s Sixth Player of the year, Salaun scored 12.7 points per contest in the regular season and has 3.4 per game in the playoffs.
“Just credit to her for understanding,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said before Game 2. “We’ve obviously made some adjustments, so just credit to Ja, her maturity, her selflessness. Like I said, our secret sauce is wanting success for our teammates before oneself. Ja embodies that. The thing is, she’s fresh, she’s ready to go. Plus, it’s a long series, so just obviously having her understanding the importance of what we’re really trying to take away, both offensive and defensively vs Atlanta, she’s locked in and she’s ready to go.”
But they’ve survived that. Even Cecilia Zandalasini, who is shooting 39.7% in the postseason, hasn’t burnt them with too many off nights. But on a night where Williams shoots 3-for-15 and Burton doesn’t do much to attack the net, there does need to be another secondary scorer.
“I thought her looks were the same as usual,” Nakase said of Williams. “She just missed. That’s why, again, if you just miss — nights are going to happen. I wish I could say she’s going to shoot 100% percent every night. That just isn’t the case. That’s why again for us, we do rely on our defense.”
At times in the playoffs that has been Hayes and Chen, but Chen shot just four times and shouldn’t be the go-to in a Finals game. Hayes shot 5-for-11 but missed some layups as well.
“At the end of the day I do think we got a lot of good looks that we didn’t finish, and it happens, and that’s basketball,” Burton said. “I do believe, then our body language and then it affects our defense and then it trickles and that was a big part on me. Like you miss a layup and turn it over and by the time you put your head down, they’re on the other end and they have a 3.
“We have to make the adjustments offensively to execute, and we’ll do that. But some of that is just missing shots and then another is getting some better looks.”
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Williams can’t light it up every night and they need someone to help her out. Even if it’s just a flurry from Zandalasini or even Kayla Thornton (2 points on Monday, 9.3 in the playoffs), it would make a difference against a Dream team that takes advantage of its opportunities.
“I need to have some conversations,” Nakase said. “I need to listen within the next 48 hours to see how I did not deliver my message about our game plan, our fight, our physicality. Today, we were trying to make sure we were going to give our best fight tonight. So it’s just unfortunate. I’m definitely going to ask questions.”
