Natalie Nakase points to gameplan execution after A’ja Wilson dismantles Valkyries

SAN FRANCISCO– For the first time all season, the Golden State Valkyries looked helpless, falling to the Las Vegas Aces 91-81 at home.

And that tends to happen more often than not when you run up against A’Ja Wilson, as the four-time MVP completely dismantled the Golden State defense on her way to 28 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks.

But that doesn’t make Natalie Nakase any less happy about the result. After the game, the Valkyries’ head coach was not happy with the way she and her team allowed Wilson and the Aces to dominate them on the boards, out-rebounding Golden State 45-33.

“We want to hit bodies first, as the shot goes up,” Nakase explained. “I think we can show it, we can practice it, but when we’re actually going against A’ja Wilson, who’s really quick, she has this quick reflex, we got to stay on top of it.”

Nakase looked down at the statsheet and shook her head.

“[Wilson] having five offensive rebounds, that was definitely not the game plan. So again, attention to detail on the game plan, we just did not execute.”

But even as Nakase expressed frustration about the lack of execution of the game plan, taking the blame for not better preparing the team for the task at hand, it’s up for debate whether allowing Wilson to dominate the glass was a game plan issue or a personnel issue.

With the Valkyries only having two true centers in Kiah Stokes and Laeticia Amihere, Golden State was forced to use Kayla Thornton and Janelle Salaun at times to try to slow Wilson down.

For as versatile as Thornton is defensively, she is not equipped to be guarding Wilson as long as she did, given the size mismatch. Same with Salaun and same with Amihere.

And it showed with Wilson playing hot potato with herself from the offensive boards whenever Stokes needed to take a rest. It showed when Wilson just trucked through whatever help came to try and stop her in the pick-and-roll, and whenever she simply elevated over the double team for a perfect middy.

And when the defense falters, the fight tends to falter, according to Nakase.

“Our fight, and that was something we know we rely on our defense. It starts there, so we just have to make sure we stay on top of it.

Juste Jocyte more minutes?

One of the few times the Valkyries did show some fight was when rookie Juste Jocyte stepped onto the court. She nailed a triple on the wing and found Gabby Williams for her own three not long after checking in, sparking an 11-0 run.

The only problem is the spark and fight Jocyte provided came with 5:29 left in the game with Golden State down 20, as she rode the bench for the entirety of the competitive game.

This comes after Jocyte played 16 of the 20 second-half minutes in the Valkyries’ big 90-88 win over the Indiana Fever, a stint that seemed to be a sign that the Lithuanian rookie would begin making headway into the crowded rotation.

After the game, Nakase explained why the 2025 fifth overall pick only got minutes when the game became a blowout.

“She’s still four practices in so far, still letting her body adjust,” Nakase explained. “We had her actually play a couple more stay ready games in practice the other day. So we’re just easing her in, because again, if I throw her out there and then all of a sudden she goes down, I’m going to look in the mirror and be like, ‘what are you doing?'”

Jocyte, along with rookie Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda, helped make the loss respectable at the end, which is something Williams believes can carry over.

“This is a long season,” Williams said. “Like I said before, our depth is going to be our strength.”

The loss dropped the Valkyries to 5-3 on the season. They face the Portland Fire for the final game of this three-game homestand.

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