Game 7: Golden State Valkyries @ Phoenix Mercury, 7:00 PM PDT

another test against a top WNBA team

The current killer stretch of games

I don’t know if people are feeling discouraged by the last 3 games, but they were literally against both WNBA Finalists. In fact, this are in the middle of a killer stretch of games against

• #1 Liberty

• #1 Liberty

• #1 Lynx (yes they’re tied for #1 and also the two teams played an ultra-close 2024 WNBA Finals)

• #5 Mercury ← YOU ARE HERE

• #4 Aces

Whew, that is a really rough schedule. Our team is a ragtag bunch of rejects (literally as teams protected 6 players from the expansion draft) that have been together for 1 month and have had starters injured for every game. And they are not backing down from the absolute best in women’s basketball. They in fact have been playing even or better through large stretches.

GSV have been better than I expected!

Things will get a little easier after that, except for 1/3 of the team leaving for Eurobasket as discussed last post

• #11 Sparks

• #6 Storm

• #13 Wings

But until then, expect ferocious fight and heart against the odds, and if we ever get a Full Squad, then they should be able to beat all but the top WNBA teams.

The Commissioner’s Cup

This game is part of the in-season tournament. In the NBA, some fans scoffed at the whole thing, as the prize money paled in comparison to player salaries and also some people don’t like change. In the WNBA, I can’t help you with change, but since the salaries are way smaller, the prize money is quite significant to the players.

The Valkyries announce:

The Commissioner’s Cup is an annual in-season tournament in which the top team from each conference with the best Commissioner’s Cup record will compete for a $500,000 prize pool in the Championship game. The Commissioner’s Cup will also make charitable contributions to non-profit organizations aligned to the players’ social justice work, which will be presented to each organization at the conclusion of the Commissioner’s Cup Championship on Tuesday, July 1.

FYI, each team has a charity partner for the Commissioner’s Cup: listed here: https://www.wnba.com/commissioners-cup/2025/community-organizations.

The WNBA explains:

• All 36 games played from June 1-17 will count toward the Commissioner’s Cup standings and the regular season standings

• Each team will play the other teams in their conference one time during that window – West teams will play six games, East teams will play five

• The team from each conference with the best winning percentage in Cup play will advance to the title game, which will be played on July 1

The Cup games are:

• June 1 Minnesota

• June 5 at Phoenix

• June 7 Las Vegas

• June 9 at Los Angeles

• June 14 Seattle

• June 17 at Dallas

How to watch

• KPIX+ (Bay Area), KMAX (Sacramento)

  • In the Bay Area, KPIX is channel 5, and KPIX+, the home of Valkyries basketball, is channel 44 (cable 12). In Sacramento, KMAX is channel 31, and KOVR is channel 13.

• (For Friday games, they’re also on ION, available on Fubo and YouTube TV and elsewhere)

• WNBA League Pass if you are out of the blackout region. Even if blacked out, in theory the game is available right after the conclusion.

GSV injury / absence report

• As of yesterday: Tiffany Hayes - Questionable - Nose.

  • Update 6:25pm: Tiffany Hayes - OUT - Nose

• No notice yet about losing players for the Eurobasket tournament, which could happen as soon as this game.

What to expect

From the Valkyries:

• High energy

• Fast pace, fast breaks

• Aggressive defense trying for on-ball steals and deflected passes

• Three-point shooting (not necessarily three-point making)

• Five-out sets

Comparative team power rankings

Power rankings are all made up, but they are useful to see the conventional wisdom about teams. Here’s one from CBS:

#3 Mercury

There were a lot of questions about this Mercury experiment heading into the season, especially after Kahleah Copper underwent knee surgery just before their first game. It appears that general manager Nick U'ren and coach Nate Tibbetts knew what they were doing, however, as the Mercury are off to a 5-2 start thanks in large part to a supporting cast filled with players most fans had never heard of.

#10 Valkyries

The schedule makers did the Valkyries no favors this week. Two games in New York against the reigning champion Liberty, then a cross-country flight to host the Lynx is about as rough of a stretch as any team will have this season. While the Valkyries generally acquitted themselves well, they lost all three due to a continued lack of offense. They've only reached the 80-point mark once all season and are now first in 3-point attempts per game (33.3) and last in 3-point percentage (27.5).

Apricot’s game 6 summary

• Full write up here

Oversimplified guide to the Valkyries roster

Four players are likely to leave through the month of June to participate in Eurobasket (thoroughly explained earlier): Fagbenle, Salaun, Vanloo, Zandalasini. Don’t worry, just four of the most important players. A shooting-starved team is losing their #1, #2, and #4 in threes per game, and Fagbenle is their starting center. This is a huge disruption to a team that has only been together about 1 month. It’s also a big opportunity for everyone staying.

They could be gone as soon as this game. I’ll update when we know more.

• Probable Starters, slightly scoring challenged but feisty defenders

  • #22 Veronica Burton. Solid point guard, outstanding defender and ball-stealer, decent at running pick-and-roll.

  • #5 Kayla Thornton. Key bench player for the champion Liberty, vet all-around forward. Likes to spot up for corner 3s and get dirty fighting for rebounds everywhere. With Burton seems to be a team leader and organizer.

  • #14 Temi Fágbénlé. Decent scoring, all-around, solid vet center.

  • #13 Janelle Salaün, Fresh off an Italian League Finals MVP, she joined GSV in Game 2 and hasn’t stopped shooting since. She’s reportedly headed for Eurobasket for June so enjoy her while you can.

  • ??? Was in previous games: Hayes, Talbot, Talbot, Vanloo, Hayes, Billings. Hayes exited last game with a nose re-injury. The last injury caused her to miss time.

• Entertaining Bench, slightly chaotic

  • #0 Carla Leite, youngest at 21 y.o., was 2024-25 EuroCup Finals MVP.

    • Has settled down into two straight excellent games after an out of control opener, and has earned Nakase’s trust to play crunch time. However, didn’t play the second half v NYL, making me wonder if she is injured.

    • Promised NOT to leave for Eurobasket, a commitment that has won my heart.

  • #20 Kate Martin. The most popular player, Iowa teammate of Caitlin Clark.

    • Secondary playmaker. Limited WNBA experience, had good flashes in 3v3 Unrivaled.

    • Has hit a couple of threes but her finishing at the rim has been difficult

  • #31 Kyara Linskens.

    • Solid rebounding machine, a classic center. A little skittish at layups so far.

    • Also promised to NOT leave for Eurobasket.

  • #35 Julie Vanloo. Goddess of Chaos, inventive and ambitious playmaker guard, in the starting lineup for the injured Hayes to add some scoring punch. A little shaky on defense so far.

  • #7 Stephanie Talbot. Vet wing who can shoot the 3. Had been penciled in as starter in preseason, but injuries delayed her debut until Game 3 where she looked rusty.

  • #24 Cecilia Zandalasini. Another vet wing who can shoot the 3. Has been out all training camp with right foot issue but came into the Liberty game and hit big shots. She was given the last shot to tie the game, so Nakase believes in her.

  • #25 Monique Billings. Sturdy scorer and rebounding vet

• Maybe Not Playing (see Injury Report above for updated availability)

  • #15 Tiffany Hayes. Lightning bug driver, unstoppable in the open court. But this team leader (she spoke at opening day) had a bad nose RE-INJURY and her return date is unclear.