Healthy players and wins are becoming harder and harder to come by for the Valkyries as the season enters its final phase.
Golden State dropped its third consecutive game when the visiting team fell to Phoenix X-X on Friday night.
Veteran guard Tiffany Hayes, who made her return after resting against Phoenix in the Bay Area on Tuesday, left the game with an injury with 7:17 to go in the third quarter.
Hayes collided with Mercury guard Kahleah Copper after she closed out on a pass intended for Copper. Hayes crumped to the ground and later went back to the locker room.
Rookie guard Carla Leite also injured her ankle in the same quarter, and although she attempted to play through it, eventually was pulled with 8:20 in the fourth quarter.
With their veteran leader knocked out, the Valkyries tumbled back to .500 with an 18-18 record and into the last playoff spot as the No. 8 seed after losing the rematch to the Mercury, who beat Golden State in the Bay Area on Tuesday.
The Valkyries kept it close for a while, though. Golden State trailed 41-31 at halftime, and a burst in the third cut the deficit to 50-47 with a little over four minutes remaining in the quarter.
One of the few bright spots for the Valkyries was rookie wing Janelle Salaun, who was asked to take on more of a scoring role with Cecilia Zandalasini staying at home while nursing a calf injury.
Salaun scored 15 on a variety of drives, contested finishes and some soft mid-range jumpers. Coming off a 24-point, 14-assist masterclass on Tuesday, Veronica Burton put up a solid 11 points and eight assists for the Valkyries.
Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas stuffed the stat sheet with an 13-point, 12-rebound, 16-assist effort, her sixth triple-double of the season.
Golden State will play at Dallas on Sunday.
Makoa Akani gets the last laugh
After being the topic of much conversation following her soccer-esque foul on Veronica Burton, the rookie out of France showed that she was more than just a defender against Golden State.
She made 6 of 9 shots and scored 18 points, 11 in the second quarter, spacing the floor for her more-decorated teammates in Thomas and Co. One of her fastbreak layups with two minutes remaining on the third quarter clock pushed the Phoenix lead to 62-49 and forced Nakase to call timeout.
As a team, the Mercury peppered the Valkyries from the perimeter and made 14 of 32 from 3-point land, compared to just 8 of 31 for Golden State.
Long-range ineptitude, fastbreak success
The Valkyries shot 3 of 15 from the 3-point line in the first half, forcing up shots due to their inability to break down the compact Suns defense. Instead of continuing to throw up bricks from long range, Nakase’s Valkyries appeared to place an emphasis on pushing the pace.
Though the team only had 14 fastbreak points according to the official box score, Golden State’s willingness to run and play in semi-transition allowed the visitors to create open looks. Salaun broke free for a couple of fastbreak layups, as did Hayes in the second quarter after a Mercury turnover.
Rupert returns
Both Hayes (rest) and Rupert (concussion) were back in the starting lineup after missing Tuesday’s game at Chase Center.
Though shutting down Thomas is impossible – after all, Thomas put up a triple double – Rupert still had her moments against the MVP candidate.
The center pulled off a nice block on a Thomas fastbreak midway through the second quarter, and a few minutes later, forced a miss with a vertical contest. She ended the game with nine points, five rebounds and two blocks.