Oh boy, the injury bug is back. First, Tiffany Hayes left at the 5:39 mark of the first quarter after fouling Dominque Malonga and wasn’t on the bench for much of the rest of the half. The team announced at halftime that she had sustained a left pinky injury and wouldn’t return while being evaluated.

The ION broadcast showed trainers looking at her left hand. She started as the Valkyries’ shooting guard and picked up one free throw in her four minutes.

Then, the team announced midway through the third quarter that forward Cecilia Zandalasini would not return after sustaining a jaw injury in the second quarter. She had 8 points, two rebounds and a steal in seven minutes.

Head coach Natalie Nakase seemed relatively unconcerned but still unsure about their status.

Nakase was pretty open talking about how difficult it was to waive Kate Martin.

“Very emotional,” she said. “A lot of heartache, I would say, you don't want to replace a person like Kate. Kate Martin just was our family member, someone we cared really deeply, and we still do care deeply about Kate. The special thing about Kate is, when you have a conversation with her, she makes you feel like you're the most important person in the room. And so with that said, it is obviously very hard, because, again, we're trying to construct the best the best team, but for us, a lot of emotions. And I think what I'm learning through being a head coach is you got to let your players sit in their emotions.”

Miela Sowah made her debut and went 0-for-1 in two minutes in the fourth quarter. She is now eligible for 11 more games if she stays as a development player all season. Ndjakalenga Mewnentanda also made her WNBA debut after being named to a replacement contract with Iliana Rupert out.

After the paywall, some observations from the game.