{"id":11358,"date":"2025-07-15T10:03:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T10:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/11358\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T10:03:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T10:03:05","slug":"valkyries-natalie-nakase-begging-for-consistency-from-refs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/11358\/","title":{"rendered":"Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase ‘begging for consistency’ from refs"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO — Alyssa Thomas<\/a> stood at the free throw line with one second remaining and the score tied between her Phoenix Mercury<\/a> and the Golden State Valkyries<\/a>, as boos from the Chase Center crowd rained down.<\/p>\n

She missed the first free throw but swished the second, securing a 78-77 victory<\/a> for Phoenix on Monday night — and drawing the ire of Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, who didn’t hold back her disappointment that the game was decided at the line.<\/p>\n

“It’s so unfortunate that they get a win off of a free throw with no defense,” Nakase said. “That’s tough.”<\/p>\n

She continued: “To sit there and watch someone win a game off of a free throw, that’s a disservice. I’m just asking for consistency. I’m begging for consistency. Hey, if it’s because I’m a rookie coach, then I’ll take the loss. So, if I have to be better with the refs, if there’s a badge of honor that I have to earn, then I’ll do it. I’ll blame myself.”<\/p>\n

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Thomas got to the line after a foul was called on Cecilia Zandalasini<\/a>. Mercury guard Monique Akoa Makani<\/a> passed the ball to Thomas just outside of the paint with two seconds left. As Thomas took a dribble, Zandalasini slid into the restricted area with both arms up.<\/p>\n

As Thomas went up for her shot, the two made contact, and Zandalasini was immediately whistled for a foul.<\/p>\n

“I saw absolutely no foul,” Nakase said. “The physicality of the game for Phoenix was 10 times more versus our physicality. I saw absolutely no foul … I believe you have to win off of great shots. That’s just part of it. So, I think we deserve that.”<\/p>\n

The first half was a game of runs. The Valkyries got off to a slow start, outscored 12-2 in the opening minutes, but they closed the first quarter on an 18-4 run to lead 20-16.<\/p>\n

Phoenix then outscored Golden State 11-3 in the final 4:43 of the first half to go up by four.<\/p>\n

In the fourth quarter, the Mercury did not make a basket until the 5:38 mark, but the Valkyries couldn’t pull away.<\/p>\n

For the game, Golden State made 14 3-pointers but shot just 33.8% from inside the arc, missing numerous layups and other shots close to the rim.<\/p>\n

Janelle Salaun<\/a> hit a tough 3-pointer with 10.3 seconds left in regulation to pull Golden State to within one. After a Thomas free throw, Salaun hit a baseline jumper to tie the score with 6.8 seconds left.<\/p>\n

On the next possession, Thomas was fouled by Zandalasini and sealed the win on her second free throw attempt.<\/p>\n

“I was so proud of the execution down the stretch, the fight, how hard we played — I couldn’t have asked for a better game. I really do believe that,” Nakase said. “I felt like we did the right things in a very crunch-time moment … it’s just losing off of a free throw, that to me hurts.”<\/p>\n

Nakase joined a growing list of WNBA personnel who have called out the league’s officiating this season.<\/p>\n

Chicago Sky<\/a> forward Angel Reese<\/a> said last week it’s a problem that “has to be fixed.”<\/a><\/p>\n

“I don’t give a damn if I get fined because that s— is cheap, and I’m tired of this s—,” Reese said. “‘Cause I’ve been nice, and I’ve been humble with it, but I am tired of this s—.”<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Sparks<\/a> guard Kelsey Plum<\/a> voiced her displeasure after a lack of calls in an overtime loss to the Valkyries on June 9.<\/p>\n

“I got scratches on my face, I got scratches on my body, and these other guards on the other team get these ticky-tack fouls, and I’m sick of it,” Plum said.<\/p>\n

Also last month, Indiana<\/a> coach Stephanie White criticized the referees for not controlling the Fever’s game against the Connecticut Sun<\/a>, which led to two scuffles and three ejections<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“When the officials don’t get control of the ballgame — when they allow this stuff to happen, and it’s been happening all season long … this is what happens,” White said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO — Alyssa Thomas stood at the free throw line with one second remaining and the score…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-11358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}