NFL
By: Ashmere Prasad
“Get it together or go sit in the locker room,” Natalie Nakase said to the team during a timeout after a disappointing first half.
The Tempo had 14 points in the paint in the first quarter, 24 total in the half. Their second quarter push eliminated the 13 point lead the Valkyries built and Golden State led by one at the buzzer, 44-43.
If there is one thing this team wants to avoid it’s negative criticism about their effort on the floor. At halftime Nakase gave the team that exact critique, “if they don’t bring it they will hear something.” The other thing about this team – they appreciate the criticism. They want to be held accountable.
“Our coach wasn’t happy with our effort. I think we are all very competitive we want to win and that was the extra motivation we needed to win. But hopefully going forward we don’t need her to get on us like that.” Kiah Stokes laughed and added “respectfully.”
Tale of Two Halves
Toronto led by five in the third quarter and the Valkyries were in a shooting drought for over three minutes. The energy was stale – the fans could tell – and a ‘Go Valks’ chant rang out to get the team going.
Janelle Salaun hit a bank shot jumper to kickstart her hot shooting night. On the next possession Kaitlyn Chen fought for a defensive rebound, pushed the tempo (literally) and dribbled into traffic in the paint. Chen tossed the ball out to Kaila Charles on the corner, Charles passed to a wide-open Salaun on the wing. Salaun hit the triple, and the Valkyries tied it up at 56.
Salaun closed out as the teams lead scorer with 24 points – 11 of those in the third quarter. Tiffany Hayes, Chen, Salaun, Veronica Burton and Stokes closed out the quarter; they were aggressive, had an unstoppable offensive rhythm.
“Tip will go until she’s completely about to faint,” Nakase said. “Ja was always ready. She talked about the matchups she saw and she was advising me and Kasib [Powell] what to do in the timeouts, and she executed it.”
Gabby Williams returned to the starting lineup since the All-Star break and played an efficient 19 minutes. She finished with 19 points, 3-3 from the arc and 5-11 from the field.
These two teams face off again in 48 hours on Tuesday night. The Valkyries will look to put together a strong 40 minutes on the floor, while the Tempo may have their star player back. Marina Mabrey was out on Sunday with a neck injury but could be active by the next matchup.
