NFL
By: Ashmere Prasad
September 6 – San Francisco
The Minnesota Lynx’s third-quarter run snapped the Valkyries’ five-game win streak in their 78-72 loss. Natisha Hiedeman was 6-of-10 from the three-point line and finished with 24 points, tying her career-high.
In the final 45 seconds, Burton drove through traffic, scored a layup, and got fouled (her usual), cutting the Lynx lead to two. Napheesa Collier hit a mid-range jumper, followed by Kayla McBride’s two free throws to seal their lead and the win.
Their flow was apparent from the start; their ball movement was crisper, the team took intentional shots, and attacked the paint. The Valkyries led by five at halftime and held Napheesa Collier to eight points, which is not sustainable, but it kept Golden State ahead. Golden State scored 22 points in the paint by halftime, 34 in total.
Burton committed a foul on Hiedeman on the three-point line, which was upgraded to a flagrant one. After hitting all three, Hiedeman scored back-to-back triples and extended the Lynx lead and their 11-0 run to close out the quarter.
Ballhalla Makes History
Ballhalla, their name for Chase Center, set the all-time WNBA attendance record for average attendance (18,064) during their inaugural season. They also sold out all 22 home games.
The roaring fans are loud during critical moments and have shaken up top teams all season. The Valkyrie Nation Substack measured the crowd noise on the Valkyries’ final home game, the loudest reaching 110 dB. Which is equivalent to a chainsaw.
Golden State will head to Seattle next week to face the Storm, who are currently eighth in the standings. Their final game of the season is in Minnesota on Thursday. A win over the next two games will clinch the sixth-seed spot for Golden State.
