The Valkyries are in the midst of a tumultuous inaugural season. Several players missed significant time due to national team commitments in Europe or injuries, and the Valkyries signed and waived players left and right. Nevertheless, the WNBA’s newest franchise entered the playoff picture.
Making a push for the playoffs had always been the plan. Kayla Thornton’s season-ending injury threatened to derail the Valkyries’ mission. Thornton did everything for the team and became the franchise’s first-ever All-Star. Losing her was a big blow to a team made up primarily of role players and rookies.
The Valkyries found a way to survive, though, winning seven of their last ten games and staying firmly in the playoff race. Cecilia Zandalasini and Veronica Burton have taken over, leading the Valkyries to continued success since Thornton’s injury.
Veronica Burton and Cecilia Zandalasini have emerged as the Valkyries’ new leaders
Cecilia Zandalasini is one of those players who missed significant time due to EuroBasket. She was also out with injuries for a bit and has only played 14 games in a Valkyries uniform—ten without Thornton. Zandalasini was the prime candidate to step up in Thornton’s absence and she has delivered.
The Italian forward led the Valkyries in scoring over the last ten games with 12.3 points. She got those points incredibly efficiently, shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 50 percent from three. Zandalasini also has the best plus/minus on the team since Thornton went out with 9.3.
No game encapsulated her impact more than her performance in an 88-83 win over the Washington Mystics. Zandalasini scored a career-high 20 points on 7-10 shooting from the field, including six made threes. She also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. The game didn’t just mark a career game, but also an extension of the most productive stretch of Zandalasini’s short season.
Veronica Burton, meanwhile, has been a steady presence for the Valkyries all season long. She is the only player who has played and started every single game. So, seeing her step up in Thornton’s absence wasn’t overly surprising. She was the team’s second-leading scorer over the last ten games, ranked third in rebounding, and led the team in assists.
In a win against Connecticut, Burton dished out ten assists and only turned the ball over once, eliciting a passionate nomination for the Most Improved Player award from Natalie Nakase. The 25-year-old followed up with another great game, recording 30 points on 76.9 percent shooting from the field, seven rebounds, seven assists, and one steal against the Mystics.
The Valkyries have a shot at making the playoffs
Outside the Minnesota Lynx in first place, the playoff race is incredibly close. The standings can change every day. Golden State is still in the bottom half of the playoff picture. With a 17-15 record, the Valkyries currently sit in seventh place.
They are one-and-a-half games ahead of the Storm, who have inexplicably fallen to the eight seed, and only half a game behind the Fever in sixth place. There is still plenty of room for movement in each direction, but the Valkyries have put themselves in a good position to make the playoffs, especially considering all the adversity they had to deal with early in the season.
However, the Valkyries’ remaining schedule isn’t the easiest. Seven of their last twelve games are against the Lynx, Dream, Liberty, Mercury, and Storm.