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3 takeaways from Valkyries big win over the Liberty
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- 3 takeaways from Valkyries big win over the Liberty
The post 3 takeaways from Valkyries big win over the Liberty appeared first on ClutchPoints .
SAN FRANCISCO– It took four tries, but the Golden State Valkyries took down the New York Liberty , in a hard-fought 66-58 win at home for their fourth win in a row .
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In a game where offense was hard to come by in the second half, the Valkyries held onto the steady play of Temi Fagbenle and got shooting of Kate Martin . Fagbenle finished with 16 points and five rebounds on 7-of-10 from the floor while Martin collected 11 points on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
The win inched the Valkyries closer to clinching a playoff spot in what would be a historic moment for an expansion franchise. With a Los Angeles Sparks loss on Wednesday, the Valkyries could clinch as soon as Thursday with a win against an injury-riddled Wings .
But that's getting a little ahead of the skis. Here are the three important takeaways from Golden State 's win over New York.
Golden State's versatile big rotation
Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
Monique Billings returned to the lineup in her first game since July 29th, in which she exited midway through a road game versus the Atlanta Dream . And the Valkyries needed her to help handle the sheer size of the Liberty's bigs– mainly Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones , as Coach of the Year candidate Natalie Nakase said in her post-game presser.
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"Her energy, you could feel it," Nakase said about Billings' return. "Her physicality inside defending without fouling was good, and just her vocal leadership. You could hear her calling out coverages."
Between Billings, Fagbenle, and Iliana Rupert, the Valkyries' interior defense held New York to only 20 points in the paint. While Stewart finished with 19 points, she did so on 4-of-15 shooting, while Jones only collected 5 points on four shot attempts.
"We all had Breanna Stewart at one point or another. It wasn't just a one-person thing; it was a team effort," Temi Fagbenle said in her post-game presser. "It was stopping what we knew she liked to do…. Ad just making it a team effort; it wasn't a one-on-one thing. When she gets the ball, she sees five people. And when you see that, it's hard to get in the flow of the game."
But beyond having more bodies to throw at bigs like Stew
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art, Billings gives Golden State much more versatility in the frontcourt. They each bring different things to the court: Fagbenle with her defensive anchoring, Rupert with her shooting and spacing, and Billings.
It also gives Nakase more lineup options. The Valkyries played double-big lineups with two of the three on the floor at all times because they had another center they could rotate in when the others got tired.
Kaila Charles is here to stay
Like other Valkyries who've played their way into a more permanent role, Kaila Charles has cemented herself in Nakase's rotation. Nakase started Charles once again in the absence of Tiffany Hayes and the former Dallas Wings guard/forward continued her solid two-way play.
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Charles finished with 10 points and five rebounds on 4-of-6 shooting, all while chasing Liberty's Marine Johannes and Kennedy Burke all night long. She's been much better than what anyone could have expected from a player cut midseason; Charles has been playing like a player who should not have been waived.
In her post-game press conference, Kate Martin talked about the impact Charles brings to the court .
"First of all, she's crazy athletic, but she also just works extremely hard. It's the way she communicates and just gets over screens and works," Martin said. "You can't teach that, and so I think it's just really impressive and a testament to who she is, and it's easy to play with somebody who's going to give 100% every single time."
With the impact Charles has had for the Valkyries, it's hard to see a world in which they waive her to get to the roster limit once Hayes or Cecilia Zandalasini returns. But it's not as simple as cutting another player. Charles is technically on a hardship contract; they would have to release her per the CBA rules.
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It's a strange situation, but the Valkyries genuinely utilize and need Charles's skillset; we'll see how they figure out how to keep her.
The crowd will be a genuine advantage moving forward
It's not breaking news that the Valkyries have a genuine home-court advantage because of how loud the Chase Center crowd is. But it was especially loud all game long in this one versus the Liberty.
In what has often been described as a joyful and positive environment, the Golden State fans took a complete heel turn. There was genuine anger and ruckus at the officials for bad calls. It almost felt like the fans truly understood the magnitude of this game. In the past, the cheers sounded off no matter the situation.
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But in a game where the team is two games away from clinching the playoffs if they beat the defending champs? The crowd was deliberately getting louder when the Liberty were on offense and whenever the Valkyries hit an important basket.
There were no more participation trophy cheers; it was strictly one-sided, other than the starting five walk-ups, which Fagbenle strongly opposes.
"I will say, our crowd is super, super nice. Even so much so, at the beginning of the game, when they're introducing the other team, they kept cheering for everybody else," Fagbenle said.
"Like Breanna Stewart. 'Wooo,' Jonquel Jones, 'Wooo-' like no! Let's stop doing that please. They're in our home, we don't want to make them any more comfortable than they might be feeling. When they are in our home, they are uncomfortable and they should feel like they are not welcome."
But based on the Valkyries crowd versus New York, it seems like Ballhala will get to that point very, very soon.
Related: Natalie Nakase' honest reflection on Celtics' Joe Mazzulla's mentorship
