SAN FRANCISCO — For a moment, it looked like the Valkyries were going to pull off the impossible.
Down four points with 15 seconds left, Golden State miraculously tied the game after rookie Janelle Salaün hit a fading 3-pointer and a fall away jumper to tie the game at 77 with just over six seconds left.
But in a crucial defensive possession, the Valkyries got discombobulated and fouled Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas at the rim with one second left. Thomas went on to hit one of two free throws to give the Mercury a 78-77 win.
In front of its 11th consecutive sellout crowd of 18,064, the expansion team shot 33.8% from the field. Golden State has now lost four of its last five games.
“I was so proud,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “The execution down the stretch, the fight, how hard we played; I couldn’t ask for a better game. I told them to keep their heads up. I Felt like we did the right things in a very crunch time moment. We knew what to run. So, that type of execution down the stretch was great. It’s just, you know, losing off of a free throw, to me that hurts.”
Veronica Burton had a team-high 17 points. Tiffany Hayes had 15 points and Salaün had 12.
DeWanna Bonner led Phoenix with 22 points. Thomas finished with 17 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.
Despite not scoring more than 23 points in a quarter, Phoenix shot 47.4% from the field and 41.4% from the 3-point line.
“That’s a frustrating loss, like that’s one that we can get and we should have gotten,” Burton said. “And obviously there’s some things we did well, especially down the stretch. I think we executed and got the looks that we wanted to in the late-game situation, but it didn’t go our way. I think there’s a lot of things throughout the game that we need to clean up.”
The Mercury were without star players Satou Sabally (right ankle) and Kahleah Copper (right hamstring), who were out with injuries.
Despite having some early offensive struggles, the Valkyries went into the fourth quarter down just a point.
A 3-pointer from Burton at the 5:23 mark of the final period briefly gave the Valkyries a 67-63 lead. The Mercury quickly retook the momentum with a few timely shots and led by one point with 1:27 left in the game.
Down three with 23.6 seconds left, the Valkyries had one more opportunity to tie the game. The Valkyries drew up a drive to the rim for forward Cecilia Zandalasini, but the Italian sharpshooter missed a lightly contested shot at the rim.
Salaün scored five points in a four-second span to tie the game late. On the Valkyries final defensive possession, Hayes slipped trying to defend Monique Akoa Makan, forcing the defense to rotate, which ultimately led to Thomas getting fouled at the rim by Zandalasini.
Golden State shot 42.4% from the 3-point line, but made just 25.5% of its shots inside the arc.
“It was a physical game as anyone could see,” Burton said. “Sometimes there’s contact in there, and sometimes we need to finish through contact. But yeah, they clog the paint. That’s what they do. They’re long, they’re athletic.”
The Valkyries found themselves in a 10-point hole just three minutes into the first quarter, but recovered to finish the period strong. Golden State went on a 18-1 run led by a flurry of 3s from Hayes that gave the Valkyries a four-point lead going into the second quarter.
Hayes came into Monday’s game shooting 57.9% from beyond the arc in her previous five games.
Golden State’s hot shooting cooled down in the second quarter as they shot 4-for-21 in the period.
Despite shooting 39.3% from the field in the first half, Phoenix committed nine turnovers and struggled to stop Hayes, who had nine first half points.
The Valkyries will return to the road on Wednesday when they play the Seattle Storm. Golden State will then enjoy a nine-day hiatus as the All-Star game is scheduled for Sunday in Indianapolis.
Kayla Thornton is the Valkyries’ lone All-Star.
