Down 2-1 in the WNBA Finals and headed into a second straight road game, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase started veteran guard Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles in place of Cecilia Zandalasini and Kayla Thornton. Golden State won Game 4 67-62 in Atlanta, the AP reported. It then won Game 5 and leads 3-2 going into Game 6 on Thursday at State Farm Arena, according to the SF Standard.
Why it was a big move
Nakase had kept the same starters for the whole playoff run. Thornton had 53 starts this year, and Zandalasini had started all but three of her 37 regular-season games. Golden State used six starting lineups in its 32 regular-season wins, but never one with Hayes and Charles alongside Kiah Stokes, Gabby Williams and Veronica Burton, the Standard reports. In Games 2 and 3, Atlanta forced 35 turnovers and scored 46 points off them.
"The best thing about our team is that no one cares who starts," Nakase said after Game 4. "We can do that because we have a really selfless, egoless team." Charles said the move was "more so like matchups. That was a very smart decision, and it just helped us set the tone."
The AP compared the move to Steve Kerr moving Andre Iguodala into the Warriors' starting lineup in the 2015 NBA Finals. The 37-year-old Hayes, who came out of retirement two years ago, said: "instead of 110 you've got to give 120."