The Golden State Valkyries’ preseason game against the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday had an all-too-familiar feel.
Much like Tuesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, Golden State had a sluggish first half in which it couldn’t get anything going offensively. The opposing team built a sizable lead early in the third quarter before the Valkyries stormed back to make things interesting in the fourth. And with minutes remaining, the game would be decided by which team could execute down the stretch.
This time, it was the Valkyries who hit the big shots.
Golden State erased a 15-point third-quarter deficit in its preseason finale to beat the Mercury 84-79 at PHX Arena. After going just 3 of their 20 on 3-point attempts in the first half, the Valkyries made 10 of 23 shots from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes.
“We like to come off a little bit cold,” Golden State coach Natalie Nakase said. “I just have to figure out how to get them a little bit more warm in the beginning, but I want them to continue to let it fly.”
Migna Touré scored 16 of her game-high 19 points off the bench. Starting forward Kayla Thornton had 12 points, five rebounds and four steals. Guard Carla Leite chipped in 11 points.
The Valkyries will play their first regular-season game on Friday at home against the Sparks.
“We put some work together as a team and that has made us grow every day,” Touré said. “I think today is an example of who we are, improving to the end and continuing to push.”
Phoenix opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run and seemingly looked to have complete control with the Valkyries starters checking out of the game for good.
But Golden State’s bench, led by Leite and Touré, found ways to knock down shots.
The Valkyries responded with an 11-0 run to cut the Phoenix lead to three, capped off by a Leite 3 from the wing. With 44 seconds remaining in the period, Touré knocked down a three of her own, giving Golden State its first lead since the opening minute of the first quarter.
After an and-1 3-pointer from Leite gave the Valkyries a two-point lead minutes into the fourth quarter, Golden State never trailed again and closed the game with veteran guard Julie Vanloo knocking down four consecutive free throws to ice the game.
“I think we shared the ball and found open shots,” Leite said when asked what sparked the Valkyries’ second-half comeback.
Touré makes case for roster spot
After playing sparingly in the Valkyries’ preseason opener, Touré looked like a long shot to make Golden State’s final roster.
But after Sunday, the French guard made things much tougher for Nakase and Golden State’s front office.
Touré, 30, flashed her three-level scoring ability in the win and was the catalyst for the Valkyries’ comeback in the second half. She shot 53.8% from the field, 44.8% from beyond the arc, and had a plus-minus rating of +5.
Golden State’s roster currently has 17 players and will need to be cut to 12 before Friday’s season opener.
Injury updates
Guard Kate Martin missed Sunday’s game with a hand injury. Nakase said Martin jammed her finger, but didn’t consider the injury serious and kept the second-year guard as a precaution.
Stephanie Talbot and Cecilia Zandalasini missed their second straight game and are considered day-to-day.