Valkyries instant analysis: Lynx close out Golden State in final minutes

Something had to give.

The league's stingiest defense met the best 3-point shooting team in a clash between the top 2 squads in the Western Conference.

When the Golden State Valkyries met the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night, it was everything this stylistic matchup was supposed to be.

The game was physical and gritty, and in the end, it came down to who was going to hit the clutch shots.

In the closing minutes, it was Minnesota's star players that made the difference.

Despite a night in which they hit 14 3-pointers, the Valkyries fell to the Lynx 87-84 after Cecilia Zandalasini's final shot to send the game to overtime fell short. The Valkyries were outrebounded 43-31 and allowed the Lynx to hit 13 3-pointers.

“It just kind of came down to a couple possessions in terms of execution,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “We needed those rebounds and we got out rebounded by 12. We gave up 14 offensive rebounds and that’s not a part of our game plan. It was attention to detail, so give credit to them. … When it comes down to a possession game, we got to have more onus and more importance of our fight.”

The Valkyries dropped their first Commissioner's Cup game and are still winless against Minnesota across seven matchups dating back to last season. The Lynx are the only team in the league they haven't beaten.

Zandalasini led the way with 18 points. Janelle Salaün had 17 points off the bench.

Star rookie Olivia Miles 28 points and seven assists. She hit 8-of-11 shots from beyond the arc.

“It was a good challenge for us, we competed with a championship-level team” Zandalasini said. “We have to be proud of what we did and just go back and watch the video. We gotta be better at a few things.”

Coming into Thursday’s game, Miles hit just two 3-pointers on 18 attempts. The second overall pick in this past draft, Miles set the record for most made 3s by a rookie in a single game.

So, the game plan for the Valkyries early was simple: let Miles shoot.

The star rookie, who Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase dubbed as "a mini Magic Johnson," made Golden State pay early. She hit five of her six 3-point attempts in the first half to lead Minnesota with 17 points at halftime.

But the Valkyries countered with a strong scoring surge from their bench. Golden State outscored Minnesota's bench 18-9 through the first two quarters to take a two-point lead at halftime.

Leading by two going into the fourth quarter, the Valkyries went tit-for-tat with the Lynx throughout the final 10 minutes. But sparked by a barrage of buckets from Courtney Williams, Minnesota went on an 11-0 run to take a 81-75 lead with under three minutes to go.

The Lynx led by six at the 1:52 mark, but a driving layup from Tiffany Hayes cut the lead to two with 33 seconds remaining.

On their final defensive possession, the Valkyries forced the Lynx into a tough driving layup from Miles but an offensive rebound from Nia Coffey led to a pair of free throws from Williams after Golden State had to foul.

Williams hit one-of-two to make the score 87-84 and left the door open for the Valkyries to send the game into overtime. Zandalasini got a clean look from the top of the key, but her shot fell well short as the Lynx notched a key win.

Ultimately, Nakase said her team’s inability to rebound in the final minutes cost them the game.

“We went in with something, and then we had an adjustment ready to fire,” Nakase said of the game plan. “I thought we did it at a timely manner, but again, we can’t give a team 14 extra possessions. You can’t give anyone 14 extra possessions. I think we just got to do a better job of as soon as the shot goes up, we got to hit bodies.”

Bad center minutes

After a string of solid games from starting center Kiah Stokes, the veteran post player was not good on Thursday night.

Stokes played 21 minutes and grabbed just three rebounds. She finished with a plus-minus rating of -14.

For crucial minutes in the second half, Nakase opted to run Salaün at center, sacrificing size for more scoring. Stokes had seven points, but the offense did not look fluid with her on the floor as she struggled to be a pick-and-roll threat.

Backup center Laeticia Amihere registered her first healthy scratch of the season. After a poor showing against Las Vegas two game ago, Amihere has seemingly been bumped out of the rotation as she played sparingly in garbage time minutes in the Valkyries’ blowout win against Portland on Tuesday.

Bench steps up

Behind Salaün, the Valkyries bench carried a big scoring load as they scored 37 points.

Hayes gave good minutes as she poured in 15 points. Kaitlyn Chen was also solid in her minutes, scoring five in 14 minutes.

“I thought (Tiffany) Hayes did a great job of reading when she should punch, when she should spray and she stayed on her feet,” Nakase said. “I thought she did a great, great job on her matchups defensively.”

Williams, Jocytė struggle

Justė Jocytė and Gabby Williams, the Valkyries best perimeter threats on the wing, struggled on Thursday night.

Williams shot 2-of-10 and scored five points – her lowest point total of the season – and missed a number of easy shots around the rim. It was the third time Williams has been held to single digits all season.

Jocytė was held scoreless in seven minutes, missing all four of her shot attempts.

Salaün’s technical foul

Salaün was assessed a technical foul late in the third quarter after hitting a 3-pointer at the top of the key to put the Valkyries up 66-59.

Following the shot, Salaün looked to have clapped and yelled in celebration but officials deemed the French forward taunting a nearby Lynx player. The call drew the ire of both Nakase and Salaün, who both argued with the officiating crew in disbelief.

The play turned out to a big momentum shifter for Minnesota Kayla McBride hit the technical free throw and then hit a 3-pointer on the same possession to cut the Valkyries’ lead to three.

“(The official) said Ja said something toward one of their players when Ja was looking at me celebrating because we have a thing about when she makes shots and she’s confident we look at each other,” Nakase said. “So it was just really unfortunate because she looked straight at me.”

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 9:02 PM.