TORONTO — Fresh off her first career All-Star selection, Marina Mabrey was held to zero field goals through the first 37 minutes of Wednesday’s game against the Golden State Valkyries.
She had seven points — all from the free-throw line — but went 0-for-6 from the field until a cutting layup at 2:59 of the fourth quarter. She finished with 11 points on 2-for-9 shooting.
Golden State has now held opposing teams’ leading scorers to under their season averages for 12 straight games.
Mabrey was vehemently face-guarded, often by Golden State’s leading scorer Gabby Williams, and faced a boatload of physicality as she fought tooth and nail to either get over top locks or back cut to the basket. The Valkyries executed their game plan for Mabrey to a T, leaving her no space and sending help the moment she had a modicum of breathing room. It was understandable then that with their leading scorer taken out of the game, the Toronto Tempo fell 83-75 to the Valkyries.
“They were really aggressive on Marina all night, so it was hard to get her open,” Sandy Brondello said postgame.
“She’s tough. Unfortunately, she’s getting a lot of trapping,” Brondello added. “Were trying to put her off the ball, off the action. On the ball she passes really well, she’s probably not going to get an open shot. We’ve probably just got to find more solutions to get her into a little bit of pinch action, where she can create something (through) isolations. But overall I thought she did a really good job of handling the physicality as well as we would’ve hoped. She’s tough, she’ll be ok.”
Mabrey spoke candidly on the defence she faced: “I feel like there was probably a difference between physicality and just absolutely fouling. But I’ll keep my money.”
Still, it was admirable that the Tempo were able to find offence elsewhere. When a player’s being top-locked, the first reaction is often to back cut. When that’s taken away, it’s often best to just play four-on-four and utilize the additional spacing provided. They did that through empty-side pick n’ rolls and clever spot-ups around the excess attention Mabrey saw.
It was always going to be a grind for the Tempo against the Valkyries’ glacial pace and second-ranked defence. The game certainly started that way. It was a cascade of blown-up actions and fouls as the two teams combined for only 16 points through the first eight minutes. Izzy Harrison had six of the Tempo’s first 10 on a pair of short roll finishes and a well-timed cut. A quick ball reversal and empty-side pick n’ roll with Maria Conde paved an easy path to paydirt. Harrison ultimately scored a career-high 24 points and showed tremendous touch around the basket.
“It was great, I thought that was one way we could score,” said Brondello of Harrison’s connection with Julie Allemand in the pick n’ roll in particular. “… she was just really efficient, getting into their drop coverage, and she finished really strongly at the rim. So we’re going to need that even more as we go forward.”
The Tempo and Valkyries are the W’s two highest volume 3-point shooting teams and Golden State was hoisting often and missing badly in the first, going 1-for-9. Meanwhile, the Tempo started to solve the Valkyries’ formidable defence. Kia Nurse ran Oklahoma action — a double drag screen where the first screener uses the second to free themselves up for a 3 — and splashed it. Allemand came up with a steal in the backcourt and banked in a one-handed buzzer-beating prayer from just inside the 3-point line to put the Tempo up 17-11 through one quarter.
Jump shooting and extra possessions via offensive rebounds and turnovers stoked a 10-0 Golden State run to start the second. The Allemand-to-Harrison short roll pocket pass was the Tempo’s best response.
Still more Valkyries shots started to fall as they generated better looks via improved ball movement. Three triples in quick succession, two of them assisted by guard Veronica Burton, had the Tempo stuck 10 and cued a Brondello timeout. By the end of the half Golden State was up ten after winning the second 30-14.
Mabrey continued wrestling through top locks and relentless physical defending off the ball, to little success. When she did manage to shake free, Allemand’s pass slipped through her fingers. Then on the next possession, she successfully back cut but Allemand missed the open read.
However, the French point guard made up for it in short order by picking Cecilia Zandalasini’s pocket and running out for a fastbreak layup. It was part of a third-quarter Tempo surge sparked by Harrison finishing a tough and-1 through contact in transition and then canning a catch-and-shoot 3.
For every Golden State pull-up jumper and deep triple, the Tempo had an answer. Allemand navigated middle and splashed a calm and controlled pull-up 2 to take the lead. Conde drilled a 3 and let out an emphatic roar along with the crowd of 8,210 as the Tempo seized the lead again. Ultimately, a fading movement 3 from the hometown hero Nurse put the Tempo up 59-57 through three quarters.
But 15 fourth-quarter points from Janelle Salaun, including a personal 9-0 run of three straight triples, that came amid 25-10 Golden State run, quelled the Tempo’s hopes of overcoming the Valkyries’ suffocating defence.
The Tempo will host the Dallas Wings and New York Liberty at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Friday and Sunday, respectively, as part of their Cross-Canada Series.
