Win or go home: Valkyries face monumental Game 2 vs. Lynx

SAN JOSE — The Valkyries’ season hangs in the balance. 

Down 1-0 in their first-round series against the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx, Golden State faces a win-or-go-home Game 2 at SAP Center on Wednesday. 

The expansion team has lost each of its last five games against the Lynx, and most recently suffered one of their worst losses of the season in Game 1 on Sunday in a 29-point defeat. 

But while the Valkyries will be clear underdogs playing in an arena they haven’t called home, the gritty first-year team is confident anything can happen in front of their favorable crowd.

“It’s win or die time,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said after Tuesday’s practice. “We understand that, but we’ve been approaching it every game since the time we played the L.A. Sparks (Aug. 9) and we made it a thing. In order to make the playoffs, it’s a must win mentality.

“We don’t think of it potentially being our last, we just think it’s a must win. And then we got to do our job. Minnesota did their job at home and we got to take care of doing our job here at home. It’s a must win.”

With the season on the line, the Valkyries will be playing in front of a sold out crowd on Wednesday night. Golden State opted to stay in San Jose and held practice at SAP Center on Tuesday.

Here are three keys for the Valkyries going into Game 2:

Stopping guard penetration 

While Napheesa Collier is the driving force of Minnesota’s offense, it’s been the guard duo of Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, also known as the viral steaming pair called the StudBudz, that have given Golden State’s vaunted defense problems. 

Williams, the steady floor general, has a knack for finding a way to get into the paint to score or dish to shooters. The veteran point guard is a threat to pull up from the 3-point line or in the mid-range as she has averaged 13.2 points per game on 40.3% shooting from the field and 38.1% from the 3-point line. 

Point guard Natisha Hiedeman has torched the Valkyries coming off the bench. The sixth woman of the year candidate has scored 24, 21, and 18 points in the last three games against the Valkyries and has routinely been the spark plug for Minnesota in stopping the Golden State’s runs. 

On Sunday, Hiedeman posted the second-highest plus-minus rating in Lynx postseason history with a +32. 

“We really need to try to be more solid on defense, but as a unit,” Valkyries center Iliana Rupert said. “Be more aware when to shift and try to help more. Even if there’s a lot of rotations, at least not letting them get easy buckets. So we saw all of that on the video, and hopefully tomorrow will get even better.”

Make open looks

This one is simple. The Valkyries need to hit more shots. 

After a hot start in which they hit nine of their first 18 shots, and five of their first eight 3-pointers in the first quarter, the Valkyries finished the game making just 11 more field goal attempts. 

In the five games the Valkyries played against the Lynx this season, they shot just 36% from the field and 25.7 from beyond the arc. 

A common thread in each of the five losses has been Golden State’s inability to stop Minnesota when it gets on a roll. The Valkyries have kept the game close in spurts, but the Lynx have always been able to deliver a crushing run that puts the game out of reach, 

“We have to respond better,” Valkyries shooting guard Kate Martin said. “We have to know that basketball is about a game of runs, and they’re a really good team. So they’re gonna go on their runs. We’re gonna have to limit that as much as possible and make adjustments quicker.”

A big factor going into Wednesday’s game will be if the Valkyries could get consistent scoring out of sharpshooting forward Cecilia Zandalasini. 

Zandalasini will be playing in her fourth game since coming back from a calf injury that kept her sidelined for eight contests. She shot just 3-of-10 from the field and 1-of-5 from the 3-point line on Sunday. 

Play off the momentum of the crowd

While the venue will be new, the Valkyries have consistently shown that they are at their best when they could feed off the home crowd’s energy. 

The Valkyries have not been worried about the change in location as they have faith the home crowd will come through. 

“Someone told me the arena is smaller than Chase Center, but I’m sure the fans are going to come through,” Valkyries rookie forward Janelle Salaün said. “I just know the fans are going to come through and it’s going to be amazing.”

The Valkyries are 14-8 at home this season. 

Notable

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase revealed that she was fined by the league after her comments regarding Game 1’s officiating. The first-year coach said she didn’t know how much the fine was, but said she stands by what she said. 

“I heard it’s a tax write off,” Nakase said. “I moved on. We’ve already talked about the new game plan, offensively and defensively. That’s where I got to make sure my girls are at.”