San Francisco, CA – Phoenix Mercury’s savvy veteran Dewanna Bonner drained a double clutch jumper to ice a 98-91 victory over the home team Golden State Valkyries.
“Finishing possessions, rebounding… not letting the physicality disrupt us too much,” were all points of emphasis for a better outcome provided by Valkyries star Veronica Burton after the game. The fourth year guard contributed 24 points and 14 assists, while also going a perfect 10-10 for good measure. Veronica’s performance was however topped by Kalea Coopers efficient 25 point performance.
Going into the second half of the game Golden State held a 59-47 lead over Phoenix, however that lead would quickly dissipate in the following quarter. The Valkryie would end up going an abysmal 6-24 in the 3rd quarter, which included 5 missed layups, leading to an only 5 point lead during the start of the fourth.
The Mercury were able to win in the margins during a back and forth end to the game. Nothing emphasized the difference in finishing possessions than the last 3 minutes as Dewanna Bonner was able to grab an offensive rebound that led to 2 extra points for Alyssa Thomas, followed up by Valkyries big Fagbenle missing a wide open layup to finish a perfectly ran pick and roll.
Starters Carla Leite and Kate Martin combined for an inefficient 10-31 night. Martin, could claim a big chunk of those misses as the known sharpshooter found herself finishing the game shooting 4-16 from the three point line.
“We got to fight. That’s it, we got to fight,” said the talented rookie Janelle Salaun during her post game wrap.
Luckily for the Valkryies they get a second shot at giving the “fight” to the Mercury on Friday August 22. Look for the Valkyries to try and stop their recent 2 game skid as there is less room for error during this end of season playoff push.