Despite the Loss, a Lot to Feel Good About

L 81-78

Losses are never fun. But there is a lot to feel really good about after tonight's close loss to the New York Liberty. Consider this:

• This is our third game against the Liberty. In the first (5/27), we lost by 27 points. In the second (5/29), we lost by five. Today, we lost by 3. And really, this was a back-and-forth game to the very end.

• Other than a soft second quarter, we equaled or beat the Liberty in every other quarter of play. Not many teams in the WNBA can go toe-to-toe with the defending champs. But our Valkyries can!

• Back in early May, I would have never guessed that we would be 7-7 fourteen games into the season. Losses are never fun. But at least they aren't coming too regularly!

We also saw some great performances tonight. Kate "Money" Martin scored 21 points and shot 4-10 from three (unfortunately, in the final three quarters, the rest of the team shot 2-15). Monique Billings pulled down some incredible rebounds in traffic. She is a tenacious rebounder and I'd be hard-pressed to imagine players who work harder for a board than she does. And on a driving layup, Laeticia Amihere* looked as if she was about to soar through the sky for a slam dunk. (*Amihere is becoming a real fan favorite. Podz wore her jersey tonight!).

So, there is nothing to hang our heads over. We competed against one of the best teams in the league. And you aren't going to win them all. Instead, we should feel good that this team is so legit that we now expect games against the WNBA's toughest competition to go well. That's something to celebrate!

Next up, we have the Chicago Sky on Friday. Go Valkyries!