The Golden State Valkyries Had It. Then They Let Lexi Held Take It Away
The Golden State Valkyries were up 76–68 with four minutes left.
Four. Minutes.
That’s plenty of time to win a basketball game. Or on the contrary, to forget how to win one.
Phoenix Mercury rookie Lexi Held dropped a heat check from the moon with 71 seconds left to put the Mercury ahead 77–76—and Golden State never scored again.
The final run? 18–1. That’s not a typo. That’s a defensive meltdown, a composure collapse, and a harsh little welcome-to-the-league moment for Natalie Nakase, all wrapped in one.
“We had the lead. We had control. We’ve got to be able to close and be composed.”
—Natalie Nakase
This wasn’t just a loss. This was a lesson. And not the cute kind.
The sit-in-your-locker-for-20-minutes-staring-at-the-floor kind.
The First Gut-Check Game for Nakase
Nakase’s postgame tone was ice cold. Not angry. Just… rattled.
“From the jump…I asked them, ‘Where’s our energy?’ We didn’t throw any punches from the beginning.”
—Nakase
That’s coachspeak for “We looked scared out there.” And she’s not wrong.
The Mercury were down two starters—Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas—and Golden State still opened like they were hosting a brunch, not a basketball game.
They looked reactive. Soft. Unready.
Veronica Burton said it outright: they didn’t talk on defense. Didn’t adjust. Didn’t hunt the hot hand. That’s not just a misstep—it’s malpractice.
“When someone hits two or three threes, we need to know where they are.”
—Burton
Held hit four.
Including a dagger so deep she might’ve launched it from Alcatraz.
Let’s give Held her flowers—she cooked. Career-high 24 points. Best scoring night by a rookie all year. And she did it without Copper and Thomas drawing attention.
But Golden State helped. Oh, they helped.
They turned it over twice in the final 30 seconds. They blew a wide-open layup. They let Satou Sabally grab her own miss, and-1 it. That’s not just one mistake—that’s a meltdown.
Sabally was the closer. Held was the heater. Golden State? Still trying to figure out how to lock the doors before someone steals the stereo.
Finish the Damn Game
Temi Fágbénlé put it bluntly: “We just messed up.”
That’s it. No excuses. No sugar-coating.
The Valkyries talk about belief. About building. And hey, they’ve got flashes. On paper, they’re not scrubs. But poise doesn’t live on a spreadsheet. Poise wins games like this.
And when Golden State needed a bucket, a rebound, a stop—anything—they got turnovers, missed layups, and defensive breakdowns.
“It’s all about consistency… build on the good things… and finish a game.”
—Temi Fágbénlé
Right now, close games are still open wounds.
Let’s talk facts. This was Golden State’s best shooting night of the season—41.7% from the field. Five players hit double figures. They scored 20 fastbreak points, grabbed 11 steals, and had their second-best transition game of the year.
So what happened?
They fell apart when it mattered most.
- Temi Fágbénlé: First double-double of the season (12 pts, 11 reb), 2 blocks, 2 steals.
- Veronica Burton: Team-high 16 pts, 9-11 FT (career-high in makes), all gas early with 8 points in the first 7 minutes.
- Kayla Thornton: Scored her 2,000th career point in the third.
- Cecilia Zandalasini: First start, 10 pts, 5 reb, career-best 4 steals.
- Julie Vanloo: 10 pts, 5 assists off the bench.
- Kate Martin: 7 points on her birthday, two threes for the fourth game in a row.
And yet, none of that mattered in the final four minutes.
The Verdict
Golden State had the juice. And then they spilled it all over the hardwood.
Maybe this is what an expansion team looks like at 2–5: bursts of brilliance followed by quarters of chaos. But Nakase isn’t built for moral victories.
“We’ve got to be able to close… I’ve got to figure out what I can do to make sure their buttons are ready to go.”
—Nakase
Well, she’s seen it now.
The slow start. The late collapse. The buttons that didn’t push. This was the Valkyries’ first real gut check—and they flinched.
Next time? It better start with a punch.
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