Game 21 wrap: Valks miracle comeback to tie, then lose on foul call; Always Close Enough To Hurt™ but this is getting ridiculous

Thomas and Bonner make lots of tough shots to get PHX into random ending territory

• Official box score

Apricot’s Live In-Game Notes

Q1

• 9.30. The Mercury are playing super hard going over the screens and trying to deny the handoffs. The Valkyries punish the overplay, getting Hayes an open layup. 

• 8.30. Interesting to see Salaun's versatility. She starts off running the pick and roll, which gets Burton a great off-ball cut, but she couldn't handle the pass. Then Salaun ends up setting the screen for a pick and roll. 

• 7.00. The Mercury are going hard over every screen, which is putting a lot of pressure on the Valkyries' ball handling and also pressure to punish with a pass to the cutter, which the Mercury are also disrupting. On the other side, the Mercury are implementing the advanced technology of hitting every single three they shoot. Which is fairly hard to beat.

• 6.45. Ok, GSV just plain lost someone in transition D on the left side. Instant timeout from Nakase. 

• 6.00. Burton still looks like she's confident with the three-pointer. Then gets a patented VB deflection-steal. 

• 4.30. Brown made that advantage by outrunning everyone down court and getting super deep post position. After that, it was kind of inevitable to foul her.

• 3.00. The Mercury are helping so hard off the perimeter in the paint that the Valkyries absolutely have to hit the open threes at a better-than-usual-for-them rate. In this case, Hayes’s defender sank all the way into the paint from the opposite corner and Hayes alertly lifted up to the wing to get just enough space to get the open three. 

• 1.27. Another play where the ball turned into intergalactic flubber. 

• 1.04. Carla Leite continues to have a missing jumper, but good hustle to get the putback attempt. Then Monique Billings fights off all comers to get that offensive rebound for a massive four-point play. 

• Westbeld has made a few plus defensive plays with deflections, and that time she just robbed Thornton on what looked like a clear fast break layup.

• GSV answers the PHX 12-2 start with a 18-4 run.  

Q2

• 9:30. Kate Martin with a classic example of a “yoink I believe you have my property”. What a clean steal. 

• 9.10. Carla Leite again with a missed jumper but she must put some extra French spin on it or something because the Valkyries get another offensive rebound and score. 

• 8:20. Billings to the line. Billings with a sneaky and charismatic ball fake to completely lose her defender in the paint. 

• 7.41. Carla Leite misses the jumper, and AGAIN Valks get the offensive rebound. I tell you there's some kind of spooky Gallic magic happening. 

• 7:19. Ballhalla getting very excited because a fan just won the memory game. 

• 7:10. Amihere is in the game. Immediately has a mix-up with Burton. I'm switching out to the weak corner and they give up an open three. 

• 5:20. Carla Leite with the first jumper I can remember her hitting in a very long time. I guess stepping in three inches from the three-point line made the difference? 

• 4:45. Salaun's jumper has gotten even flatter than it was, hasn't it? She gets the switch onto a much smaller defender, but GSV can't get the ball to her. The shot goes up, and it was predetermined that she would dominate her small defender to get that offensive rebound. 

• 4:31. That's the second alley-oop layup that Phoenix has gotten. I think I know what Nakase is going to be grouchy about at halftime. 

• 3:33. Burton with a layup fueled by boldness and still being pissed off from a few plays ago when she got called for a foul on a wrestling match both ways for post position. She was lucky not to get a tech for that as she flung the ball in frustration after the count was called. 

• 2.33. Standing ovation for the trailblazing women pro basketballers of the San Francisco Pioneers and San Jose Lasers.

• 2:13. Valkyries throw a surprise 2-3 zone. Mercury try a flare screen to the right wing, but get called for an illegal screen. 

• 0.00. Valks have regressed to a more Valks-like three-point shooting percentage: 33%. Phoenix still at 35%. Unfortunately, GSV is shooting under 30% overall—a testament to Phoenix's strong interior defense. 

• Usually the GSV motto is “we lose money on every sale, but we make it up in volume.™” In this case, Phoenix is actually ahead of the Valkyries in three-point attempts, 20 to 15. 

Q3

• 8:20. Salaun defies physics with that contested ultra-flat jumper. In the meantime, the Mercury have been exploiting their advantage inside. 

• 7:39. Somebody is trying to get the wave going. I sense a little bit of resistance from Ballhalla. I know reviews are boring, but... Feels wrong to do the wave during a close game. Critical Mass has finally been achieved and we have ignition on the wave. 

• 6:30. Burton read that touch pass beautifully to Thomas, gets the pick-2 steal.

• 6:20. I think the Valkyries pull out another surprise 2-3 zone, this time get immediately punished with an open corner 3. 

• 5:40. Phoenix goes for the alley-oop again, and this time Billings reads it perfectly

• Alyssa Thomas has been automatic jumperwise from the free throw line area. 

• 4.51. If Phoenix is going to go under the screen, Veronica Burton is going to have the green light to shoot that open three.  

• 4:02. I can't agree with Ballhalla's video screen using the "What a dagger" phrase. I personally believe that "dagger" should only be reserved for shots that are game-sealers. Synonymous with night-night shots. 

• 3:20. Carla Leite, this time with a good pocket pass to the rolling Billings, but Mo can't convert. Good sign. These Leite pocket passes have been a real series of misadventures the last few games. 

• Cecilia continuing where she left off with a pure mid-range shot off the out-of-bounds play. 

• 2.20. Bonner and Thomas are keeping PHX going with some difficult shot making.

• GSV +6 OREB, +2 STL. Where would GSV be without the shot advantage?  Behind, that’s where they’d be.

• 1:38. Bonner with another long three. But luckily, Ballhalla has Cecilia Z to match her in bombage.

• 0.01. Okay, Alyssa Thomas finally misses one of those high-difficulty shots. 

Q4

• Ballhalla has a lovely tradition of turning out the lights before the 4th quarter and having people wave their phone lights. Then people cheer region by region to identify themselves. 

• Feels like Bonner has scored the last 15 points for Phoenix. She sets a hard screen to force Carla Leite to switch to her, then backs her down in the post, then gets free throws. 

• 8:30. That's the first time Amihere has flexed her athleticism, getting that OREB. 

• 6:31. Valkyries try multiple pick-and-roll partners with Amihere. Leite, then Zandalasini. Zandalasini makes it work with a kick out to an extremely open Tiffany Hayes who has enough time to contemplate all her life choices before sinking the open three. 

• 5:52. Next up in the controlled scientific experiment is Hayes running the pick-and-roll with Amihere. This time, Hayes throws the traditional pocket pass to the roller, and Amihere makes a very mature read, seeing the help coming off the opposite corner—a kick-out to an open three from Kayla Thornton. The shot’s trajectory massages every part of the rim until it goes through. 

• 5:10. I guess I was incorrect about Veronica Burton, and she is, in fact, the greatest three-point shooter of all time. 

• Akoa Makani showing her offense at the Valkyries going under the screen on her, hits the 3.

• 4:19. Play starts with Cecilia and Laeticia. Pick and roll, the defense is off balance as the ball swings around, Amihere with a gorgeous ball fake out of the corner into a screaming red-hot drive for a layup. 

• 3:19. Thomas has showed some serious wilyness with ball fakes in the paint, just shedding defenders left and right. This time she gets Zandalasini. 

• 3:19. More Wave in the commercial break. Mercifully cut short with the t-shirt toss. 

• Always Close Enough To Hurt™ 

• 3:00. Challenging for Janelle to come into a crunch-time game cold off the bench like that. In sharp contrast, Alyssa Thomas is fully warmed up for the roasting flames of everyone trying to guard her.

• 2.19. Just when I doubt, Janelle gets a gift of three free throws. Huge. 

• Coach Nakase's heat checking the ending, bringing Salaun and then Zandalasini back in. They set two-sided screens out of Horns for Hayes. She throws 35 dribble moves and misses a layup. 

• 0.50. Salaun gets beat on the back door cut for the dagger layup from Mercury. And yes, I used the word dagger there knowingly.

• 0:10. I guess I have to admit when I'm wrong, and in fact Janelle Salaun has perfect form and is the greatest three-point shooter of all time. 

• Okay, I know Always Close Enough To Hurt™ is the Valkyries corporate motto, but that game really took it two levels further than necessary. STOP WE WERE ALREADY DEAD

• Absolutely classic example of a Random Ending™ (see end of last write-up). Hayes and Zandalasini barely miss layups, PHX gifts some big missed free throws… it all comes down to a split-second judgment by a ref.

Post-game

• Nakase told them she was proud of them. Eye contact, knew what to run. How connected, how hard they played. 

  • Credit to everyone, because you have to have everyone execute everything. Beautiful basketball. JS tough to come in and produce.

  • Really tough to lose on a foul and not a shot.

• NN: I saw no absolutely no foul on the last play. PHX physicality was 10 times ours, we don’t play that way.

  • PHX went small so wanted Ceci and Janelle because she could iso 

    • I.e. to attack a mismatch if there was a switch

  • On the 12-2 run, GSV were taking bad shots.

  • Very unfortunate that it came down to a free throw. Fans deserve great moments, great shots. A disservice. Begging for consistency from refs.

  • Ending was selfless, it was a reset play so the players decided how to get the ball to the person they wanted to get a shot.  

• Well, I’m not sure Natalie dodged the fine for that press conference… she kind of went up to the line, then stomped on it a few times.  Only time will tell.

Valkyrie Valor

As the winner last time, Cecilia Zandalasini is not eligible for today’s poll.