Game 16 wrap. GSV blows out Seattle; close for a half and then vooooom; Thornton leaves with injury
Maybe the last game for Kaitlyn Chen, Laeticia Amihere, Chloe Bibby, Bree Hall as the EuroBasketeers are returning soon
Apricot In-Game Notes
Eurobasket insane drama
Jocyte has 23 PTS, 5 REB, 8 AST and led her LTU team in EFF in a losing cause vs TUR. LTU led early in the 4th but couldn’t hold on. LTU ends up 8th which is very good for the #22 ranked team in Europe.
Next game, Vanloo and Linskens take on Spain for the championship. The winner will directly qualify for the World Cup.
Hopefully all Valkyries will return in a couple of days sharpened and ready for the rest of the season.
This is the best showing in Eurobasket for Lithuania since 2015 (also 8th) since they have not qualified for Eurobasket since then! A return to glory.
They finished better than that before, especially in the stretch from 1995 to 2007 and even won 1997. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuania_women%27s_national_basketball_team#FIBA_Women's_EuroBasket
>> Jocyte wins FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 Rising Star award
19-year-old Jocyte had a stellar debut FIBA Women's EuroBasket campaign
PIRAEUS (Greece) - Juste Jocyte has been named as the first ever FIBA Women's EuroBasket Rising Star award winner in recognition of her impressive work for Lithuania.
With her nation absent from the competition for a decade, the 19-year-old guard was instrumental in helping Lithuania make a run to the Quarter-Finals on their return. <<
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-eurobasket-2025/news/ebw-2025-rising-star-award
Sounds like they made up an award for her. Way to go, Justé!
In EuroBasket, Zandalasini led ITA (#7 in Europe) to an upset over FRA (#1 in Europe) to take 3rd place. Z leading her team in scoring by a lot and in Efficiency, this game and through the tournament. Salaun and Rupert started for France but had eh games. Both teams were guaranteed a Top 5 finish, which already qualified them for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and FRA were coming off a devastating loss to Spain in the semis.
I posted some of my eurobasket thoughts on Reddit but thought to might as well copy them over here😂:
The loss to Spain really took a toll on France. From the start, they looked physically and mentally exhausted. Despite that, the French coach still refused to turn to his bench for fresh legs.
Italy also looked tired, but they were clearly still hungry, especially Ceci, who gave it her all. She defended Janelle so aggressively, leading to some intense valks on valks crime (she knocks the ball from behind off of Janelle mid shooting as I was typing this).
With the heavy minutes and mental toll of EuroBasket, we can probably expect extended rest for all our EuroBasket players, which means they might miss the upcoming game against the Lynx.
As for Carla, she’s still out with a back injury, but there are encouraging signs. She looked energetic on the sidelines against Chicago, and it was reported that she even participated in some pregame warmups, though she ultimately sat out. It makes sense to rest her again against Seattle, but we might see her log some real minutes against Minnesota.
[On commenters worshipping Awa Fam] You and Via will be delighted to see the too-early projection as of today that GSV will be drafting Awa Fam in 2026 at #10
Spain (#2 EU) up 1 at Q3.5.00. Belgium (#3 EU) surviving a nightmare chaotic bad game from Vanloo who is 0-8 and 0-6 3P. Linskens playing strong and Meesseman with a stunning (for others not for her) box score of 12 PT, 8 REB, 6 AST, 2 TOV, 5 STL, 2 BLK in half a game.
Can’t help but feel Vanloo is due for some good chaos before this game ends.
As I type this, Vanloo chaotic good 3 puts BEL up 2.
What a berserk ending. ESP were up 12 with 2+ min to go and I fell asleep to wake up to this
Vanloo and Linskens are EuroBasket champions!
Z carried ITA way beyond the expected. And Salaun and Rupert were awesome for FRA, despite the ultra painful ending. Vanloo (chaotically) and Linskens huge for BEL. Even for Great Britain, Temi was big (I mean she’s always big but well you get it)
All in all, excellent EuroBasket for the Valkyries
This skypost has a beautiful clip of Z majestically accepting her trophy.
[[ Cecilia Zandalasini named to the All-Star Five
Led Italy to the bronze medal and averaged 16.8 points, 6 rebound and 3 assists on 47.1/48.1/80 shooting ]]
2026 WNBA Draft Tourney will be a fun one
Marie Conde is a star for the Spanish team who was drafted by GSV. Unfortunately she had a major injury so she missed EuroBasket and WNBA season.
Q1
Tipoff coming soon, Starters KT, Talbot, Billings, Tip, VB.
Welcome to Valhalla, Megan Rapinoe with the welcome drum beat.
10.00. I think GSV started off in drop coverage. Hard to tell when Billings got an elbow dropped into her face.
8.56. Billings with the really nice fake handoff for a layup. Seattle comes out in drop coverage. Kayla tried to punish, misses.. But Veronica Burton continues the offensive rebounding tear.
7.51. Really nice rotation from Burton to cover on the drive, and then even managed to deflect the pass out.
5.22. Seattle made that work but again the screens are doing nothing to the defenders.
GSV 3 for 4 from three I guess count as a genuine barrage by anybody standards.
4.32. we have some kind of brouhaha happening. offsetting technicals I think.
4.32. Temi is back! Ultra slow version of that horns play which turns into a second side handoff, but VB & Fagbenle make it work with a textbook pick and roll.
3.30. Good rotation from the weak side from Seattle that surprises Thornton, pull up and travel.
3.20. Fagbenle with the ultra aggressive pressure at half court (literally on the logo) almost gets a steal, then gets the backcourt violation.
3.04. Kaitlyn Chen runs the same horns play with the second pin down and again it develops incredibly slowly. I don't think Kate Martin knew it was the play. Bailed out with a kicked ball.
2.34. If you wanna know what basketball would be like if the ball were made out of flubber just watch the last 30 seconds.
2.10. Kaitlyn Chen with the super hustle play flying out of bounds to get an offensive rebound.
1.36. Valkyries play vanilla drop coverage and cover the SEA roll really well.
1.04. Last game with the Valkyries strangled the Storm with a zone. Today it just seems to be straight drop coverage and inviting them to take long jumpers which they are not converting. Yet. 25% 1-4.
0.58.That was the horns play which turns into a pick and roll between the elbows, but covered well and it's a turnover.
Q2
Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe wave from their throne like sports royalty.
9.00. Valkyries got lucky there, Chen and Martin couldn't decide on what the assignments were and they both left Cook in the corner who had just cooked from three. Dodged a bullet.
7.09. Amihere back in. Temi took some of her minutes. Now trying the Temi-Amihere lineup.
6.41. Seattle switching to a surprise 2-3 zone and Burton tries to shoot over it. Nope.
6.15. Same Horns into second side hand off. Again run kind of un-crisply.. May need to practice this again. Or maybe they're really tired from this intense stretch of games.
5.11. Kaitlyn Chen throws an extremely ambitious pass over the top, which works for a beautiful Amihere layup..
4.38. Speaking of basketball royalty, Dawn Staley is here. AND STEPH.
4.20. I like seeing Stephanie Talbot this aggressive. The defense was in rotation as the ball switched sides, and ST drove Instead of swinging it.
Fagbenle has her mark sealed, but I guess did a little too much grabbing.
3.38. Valkyries have been going under a lot of these screens, that's the first time Seattle has punished them.
Valkyries are now shooting 27% 3P. Much closer to their season average.
We Lose Money On Every Sale, But We Make It Up In Volume™
2.10. Another possession where Seattle screens do nothing to the defender. If Seattle loses this game, they've got to look at practicing setting much harder screens.
1.02. Really good punish by Seattle. Valkyries are sending help into the paint and leaving the far side corner three open.
Valks up 7. SEA has been making some tough shots and missing some open 3s. 4-18.
Volatile game… if SEA starts shooting better 3s, they will make a run. If they start making fewer contested shots, GSV could run away with it.
Narrator: it was the second option.
Q3
9.22. Woof, KT got clobbered on a screen and is looking very woozy. It wasn’t a dirty play… just hit her the wrong way.
It looked like a back screen, it didn't look dirty, I don't really understand it.
Ingemi said KT was holding her neck. Ingemi always has the scoops, in addition to always starting The Wave on press row.
8.52. Burton ends up behind the play, it's a five on four, but Seattle can't find the open player (she was in the far corner) before Veronica hustles back into the play.
833. Burton and Hayes do a small-small, pick and roll, but they aren't on the same page. Burton insta-slips the screen, Hayes is rejecting the screen so they almost smashed each other. Luckily Tip is fast enough that she blows by everybody with the layup.
7.58. Burton with a sweet hesitation and-one layup. Podziemski is up with the standing ovation. Good to see that guy coming out of his shell.
Talbot telegraphed that swing pass for a pick-2.
7.15. No one on the Seattle team seems to be able to keep up with Hayes first step. This time she forces help to come that gives Billings a little angle for the roll and the little floater.
6.18. You don't wanna have Veronica Burton guarding you when it's low in the shot clock and you have to shoot. She just vaporized that play.
4.20. Kate Martin gets guarded by Seattle going under the screen which she immediately punishes with a pull-up three. Huge if she could get that consistent
A few seconds later, she comes up with the steal and pass to a cannonball Veronica Burton fast break for a layup. Game is slipping away from Seattle.
3.30. Another chaotic Laeticia play. Hayes had the drive and forced help to come off the far corner but Laeticia cut straight to the basket instead of staying in the corner for an open three. Pass out of bounds. Hayes will get the turnover but that was LA’s fault..
2.52. This time Laeticia stays on the wing when Burton kicks it out, catches it. But she drives instead of taking the three – that's an OK decision – does a euro step into three players and somehow comes out of it with free throws. Truly, the deputy goddess of chaos.
2.17. Another kick out to Laeticia in the corner. This time she does shoot the three. The air ball. Kind of endearing how both Golden State teams have the law of the jungle that if you are a role-player that gets hot, then you must be force fed until you miss.
1.13. That's the second touchdown pass Kaitlyn Chen has thrown. Afterwards, Temi goes up for a celebration bump with Kaitlyn, and then seeming to calculate the mismatch of masses, adjusts her body to reduce the impact to prevent body slamming Kaitlyn into the stands. That's teamwork for you.
0.10. Maybe slightly early to go into blowout mode, but the kind of careless turnovers Seattle is giving up indicates kind of giving up.
GSV announces KT will not return and she obviously should not up 21.
Q4
8.51. Amihere says, WHO YOU CALLING DEPUTY GODDESS OF CHAOS and spikes the 1-on-2 fastbreak layup into the stands. Then goes down and gets another layup.
8.04. Okay, up 24. I’m going into reduced commentary mode.
Great inside cut from Kaitlyn Chen, but she cannot finish and she throws an inside pass off of Temi Into the stands, period.
6.48. Chen with more hustle and a fast break layup that has Chase Center levitating.
5.00. They run the horns play for the second side dribble handoff again. This time Laetitia has it and Instead of handing it off, she runs a keeper - not a total surprise there - and then tries to finish through three defenders and gets it stripped.
4.49. Up 25, I suppose I cannot begrudge Balhalla a round of the Wave. Just don't try this in a close game, please.
I’m excited for an away game so I can come comment more. 😂
But. Stopping by to report that even with a lead of 20+, Steph Curry still throws up his arms for every valks 3 pointer.
Whether he’s locked in for the love of the game or out of fear of Podz shaming him, his celebrations are appreciated.
Me: This is the kind of insider report we need.
1.38. A little bittersweet seeing Chen, LA, Bree Hall and Bibby out here, because you know my opinion that this will likely be their last game here.
Post-Game
Nominees for Valkyrie Valor? Hayes, Burton, Martin, Amihere? Is that too boring?
NN:
KT out and being evaluated.
It was Coach Sydney’s scout and great job.
Tip always makes the right play. Go under, pull up. Go over, drive. Low man pulls in, kick it out.
Eurosubs surpassed her expectations. We need more roster spots.
Temi is the ultimate pro, and NN appreciates when she asks out. Hard to admit you need a sub instead of staying out there and not rebounding.
💔 for my Goddess of Chaos
JVL with a very gracious and honest note on her Instagram: https://bsky.app/profile/mingemi.bsky.social/post/3lswkvwav4c2f
Salaun and Zandalasini have been activated on return from Eurobasket.