Three days may have passed since the injury-plagued Valkyries lost to the Mercury in the Bay Area, but a controversial foul still a topic of conversation as the scene shifted to Phoenix for the rematch.
Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts responded to criticism directed at one of his players by Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase.
“I don’t think Mo is a dirty player at all,” Tibbetts said. “I mean, she’s probably one of the sweetest girls we’ve got on our team.”
He later added, “I’m not too worried about what Natalie says over there.”
At the 6:13 mark of the fourth quarter, rookie Monique Akoa Makani was called for a tripping foul as she attempted to stop Valkyries’ guard Veronica Burton from driving to the rim. It was deemed a common foul by the officials, a decision that drew the ire of Nakase, who called the foul “unacceptable.”
Nakase, a first-year coach but no stranger to voicing her opinions about fouls or officiating, explained why she had trouble with the foul during the postgame press conference.
“I saw Makani kick (Veronica) and I don’t like it,” Nakase said. “When I see someone kick one of our players like that’s a red flag for me. I don’t like that type of physicality. … Tripping a player, for me, that’s not basketball.”
Burton did not mention the foul during her postgame media availability at Chase Center.
While the foul did not result in any major injury, the Valkyries are still dealing with a number of ailments, even if starting two-guard Tiffany Hayes is back in the lineup after sitting out the last game for rest purposes.
Sharpshooter Cecilia Zandalasini, who had scored in double-figures in each of her past five games, will now miss a second game in a row with a left calf injury. Carla Leite (foot) and Iliana Rupert (concussion) were both listed as questionable.
After playing at Phoenix, Golden State will have one day to rest up before heading to Dallas for a showdown with the Wings and rookie superstar Paige Bueckers. The Valkyries entered Friday seeded seventh with nine games left to play.
Other news and notables
The Valkyries announced they have signed guard Kaila Charles to a rest of season contract. The 27-year-old had previously played on a trio of seven-day hardship contracts to remain on the roster, but needed to sign a rest of season contract in order to stay on the team past Friday. She has averaged 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, joining the team after All-Star Kayla Thornton was lost for the season with a knee injury.
The team announced that veteran forward Monique Billings is now day-to-day after missing almost three weeks with a left ankle injury. She has averaged 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in 21 games played this season.