“Resilience” was the word head coach Natalie Nakase used to sum up Tuesday’s win over the Atlanta Dream. And sure, that fits. After all, close finishes have become their thing lately. Take their 88-77 comeback win over the Fever. Down by 13, they turned into absolute snipers – shooting 62.5% from the field with zero turnovers in the final quarter. And the one against Dallas, where they torched the Wings for 56 second-half points, proving halftime speeches really can work miracles. And how could anyone forget the Kelsey Plum showdown? Rookie Carla Leite banked in a game-tying floater with her off-hand, just seconds after Plum tried to bury them. Golden State then bossed their first-ever OT, outscoring L.A. 11-3 and leaving Plum’s hopes somewhere in the arena’s dust.
Then, recently, we saw Cecilia Zandalasini come up clutch, dropping 18 points and nailing a short baseline jumper with 3.9 seconds left to seal a 77-75 win over the Atlanta Dream. And just two days later, as expected, the drama continued. This time, it was Kate Martin stepping up, helping the Valkyries edge past the Mystics 68-67 in a low-scoring but nail-biter affair. Their clutch-first mentality, aggressive shot-selection, and intentional crashing of the boards is no wonder, though. We have heard Coach Nakase emphasize it over and over again.
The Valkyries came out all guns firing at the CareFirst Arena, setting the tone early with a 30-point first quarter. In front of a packed crowd of 4,200, they built a lead as big as 17 points. But the team’s early momentum and then fourth-quarter magic often covers up one big truth. They have a habit of letting leads evaporate. Because, let’s face it, clutch moments are 50% luck, and when you slip just a bit, you run the risk of seeing the likes of defeats they had to Minnesota and the mercury. For example, they surrendered an eight-point fourth-quarter lead in their 86-77 Commissioner’s Cup loss to the Mercury in Phoenix.
So, in the game against the Mystics, too, the same fears arose. The momentum was fizzling out. As the game wore on, cracks began to show on Coach Nakase’s side. By the time the third quarter ended, the Valkyries had already seen their 17-point lead cut down to 7. But that’s when things got even worse for a Valkyrie fan. In the whole of the 4th quarter, Golden State had only scored 6 points. Remind you of something? Yes, that heartbreaking franchise debut loss to the Sparks, where they had just 7 points in the final quarter. But thankfully, this time around, they somehow managed to hold on to their lead to secure the win. Kate Martin, Temi Fagbenle, and Janelle Salaun were the only ones to get a bucket in the 4th quarter.
Coach Nakase, though? She tried to stay positive after the win despite the shaky moments. In the postgame press conference, she said, “I don’t even look at the six points. I look at the score. Both teams couldn’t move that scoreboard at all, and so I was like, ‘Hey, look, we’re still up…’ I thought that was a really good execution on the defensive end.”
Natalie Nakase on the Valkyries’ 6 fourth QTR points:
“I don’t even look at the six points. I look at the score. Both teams couldn’t move that scoreboard at all, and so I was like, ‘Hey, look, we’re still up…’ I thought that was a really good execution on the defensive end.” https://t.co/LpeDZbwAOW
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) August 1, 2025
And why wouldn’t she be? The Valkyries have scored fewer than 9 points in the fourth quarter in each of their last two games—and still came out on top both times, winning by a combined margin of just 3 points. That says a lot about their grit and mindset. What’s more impressive? They pulled it off without their best player, Kayla Thornton, on the floor.
But as we have been hinting, how long can they really keep this up? Scoring single digits in the final quarter and still winning isn’t exactly a sustainable formula. Tonight, they were bailed out by 11 made three-pointers. On another night, though, those 16 turnovers could’ve cost them big, especially if the Mystics had converted more than just 17 points off them. That said, it was still a night to remember for Kate Martin after what she had gone through in recent times!
Kate Martin finally shows up for the Valkyries!
Kate Martin has seen her regular playing time of roughly 16.3 minutes per game this season drop to 12 minutes per game in her last 4 appearances. And this doesn’t even cover the healthy dnf against the Dallas Wings. Coach Nakase did give an explanation about this, saying, “We have six games in 10 days. Before the break we had six games in 12 days. So I’m just kind of being mindful and so we’ll see moving forward because that is not a lot of downtime.”
But tonight was different. Martin finally got a solid stretch of minutes, and she made the most of it. She dropped 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting while also hitting three 3-pointers and grabbing 5 rebounds. That performance now puts her second in the WNBA for most three-pointers made off the bench this season.
Coach Nakase’s decision to rest Martin has helped bring the best out of her. That’s the true sign of a good coach. The Valkyries will be forced to rely more on Kate’s scoring ability as they will be without the services of Kayla Thornton for the rest of the season. With a 13-13 record and currently 8th in the table, do you see them making the playoffs? Let us know in the comments down below!
The post GS Valkyries Coach Turns Blind Eye to Kate Martin & Co.’s 4th-Quarter Collapse After Close Mystics Win appeared first on EssentiallySports.