NFL
By: Ashmere Prasad
The Valkyries started this series with a major victory in game one. It fueled Dallas in game two, which handed it right back. They carried that momentum into Friday’s elimination game in Ballhalla, which had every form of playoff chaos imaginable.
Golden State had a rocky start; the defense wasn’t getting the stops they wanted, and Jessica Shepard was dominating on the glass, closing the half with eight rebounds. On the other end of the floor, Golden State shot 37% from the field. The arena energy was tense; everyone in the building knew what was at stake.
Arike Ogunbowale hit an off-balance bucket to close the half, giving the Wings a seven-point lead, 44-37.
The Wings then went on a 20-0 run well into the third quarter. Golden State missed 15 straight field goals. Every shot attempt bounced off the rim in different forms: Veronica Burton’s three hit the back iron, as did Gabby Williams’ floaters. Shots were short; layups were missed. It felt like the Valkyries’ playoff-run dreams were nearing an end.
At 5:55, head coach Natalie Nakase called a timeout to allow Golden State a moment to regain some calm. I don’t know if you believe in angel numbers, but in those critical moments, it felt like a sign. Coming out of the timeout, Burton hit a desperately needed deep three that brought the fans and the team back to life. Ballhalla rose to their feet and roared in celebration. Until that shot, the league’s loudest arena was fairly stunned and quiet.
After forcing a turnover and fighting for the foul on the floor, Burton slammed her hand on the paint, as if to signal, “This can’t be how it ends.”
Williams said that moment shifted things for the team. After seeing Burton’s shot swish, she said, “We saw one go in; now’s our time to get going. After that, it was just about getting stops.”
Golden State closed the third on a 14-4 run, trailing by four going into the final quarter. The defensive effort started to look like the Valkyries again. They forced turnovers, got rebounds on both ends of the floor, and slowed down the Wings’ fiery offense.
Final Quarter Victory
Williams dribbled into the paint and handed the ball off to Kaila Charles on the wing. She sank a three to tie it at 65-65. The bench erupted. Kaitlyn Chen was jumping up and down so much it felt like she was on a personal trampoline. The fans shrieked and nearly jumped out of their seats.
Until Ogunbowale hit another clutch three. Her shooting in this series is its own masterclass. The eight-year vet kept hitting tough shots over multiple defenders and led Dallas to a 7-0 run, with all seven points credited to her.
The final two minutes are truly unbelievable. The entire arena was on their feet, shouting at every possession, grabbing their hair and holding their breath every time the ball was in the air.
During a Dallas Wings timeout, Nakase was talking with a referee and collapsed on the sideline. The fans were distracted with their chants, but we could clearly see Nakase fall and be helped up by her coaching staff. She looked distraught, but immediately told everyone she was fine, drew up a play that led to a defensive stop and score, and carried on.
Williams hit back-to-back clutch jumpers, giving the Valkyries a one-point lead, 73-72.
With 16 seconds remaining, Williams drove to the hoop and undershot her layup. She fell out of bounds, until she wasn’t. She flew back inbounds to maintain the Valkyries’ possession, but Dallas was up in arms, claiming she was out of bounds. Nakase challenged the play – and it was successful. Valkyries maintained possession of the ball. Paige Bueckers chucked up a three, hoping for a miracle, but it was unfortunately short.
The arena exploded, and the entire team ran to center court, jumping and hugging one another.
It’s unclear what happened to Nakase; it looked like she quickly fainted, and the impact of the court shook her back up. Assistant coach Kassib Powell entered the press room postgame and shared that she was “fine. Laughing with the team in the locker room and preparing for the team’s matchup on Sunday.”
An extreme game filled with so much emotion. Williams took over when the Valkyries needed her most. The defense was aggressive and got major stops in the final minutes of the game. Ogunbowale closed out the night with a dominating 30 points. Her performance in the last two games was the lifeline of the Wings’ success.
“We led pretty decently; we just couldn’t hold it,” she shared postgame. “They’re a great team, obviously… They played well against us, but I feel like these past couple games we played well against them. It’s tough to give a lead-up like that. It’s also tough to keep a lead against a team like that.”
The Valkyries have about 36 hours to prepare for the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday afternoon. The Aces are the only team Golden State has not beaten this season. With A’ja Wilson coming off an MVP series herself, this will be a new test for a Valkyries defense that figured things out in the final minutes.
This matchup will showcase a different group of Valkyries because of the Aces’ size and length. But for the first 12 hours, Golden State can celebrate advancing to the semifinals for the first time in their first two seasons in the WNBA.
