By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Believe me when I tale you. It was a tale of two halves.

The expansion Valkyries, in their biggest test to date, delivered an exemplary first half to lead the undefeated Lynx, 52-51. But the second half disintegrated into a massive tutorial as the visitors in a full display of their championship aspirations took control.

“We don’t mind pain,” coach Natalie Nakase said pointedly. “I told you we’re killers. If you’re not feeling pain then that’s a problem.”

The 86-75 result kept the visitors as the only undefeated team (7-0) in the WNBA. But it also kept the Valkyries (2-4) engaged, and striving to reach their potential as opposed to being frustrated by an 0-3 stretch against last season’s two finalists.

The next move for Nakase and her team? An already typical, laborious stretch at their Oakland practice facility in preparation for Thursday’s game in Phoenix against the Mercury.

“Just stay together,” Veronica Burton said when similarly asked about frustration. “That’s this league, that’s this season. The W is hard. There’s a reason we’re all here, and I think each player has experienced a certain level of pain or hardship. That’s allowed us to bounce back and just use it as motivation as well. Stay connected off the court. Teams that stay together succeed typically in this league.”

The Valkyries’ 52 points in the first 20 minutes was all hustle and resolve as their 45 percent shooting didn’t headline the effort as much as did their 35 shot attempts and 14 of 16 shooting from the foul line. To be the fair, the experienced Lynx didn’t renounce the fast pace, but they didn’t settle in immediately either.

The highlight of the half was the 12-2 run thay gave the Valkyries a brief 36-34 lead. Kate Martin took over during that stretch, scoring 11 of her career-best 14 points in her first five minutes floor.

But while the Valkyries individually platued and dipped, the steady Napheesa Collier ran the evening, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists that almost appeared understated. Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride efficiently supported Collier with a combined 36 points, including five made threes. Collier appeared completely healthy after missing the previous game with right knee soreness.

The first 13 minutes of the second half saw the Valkyries score just eight points and trail 75-60 with 6:58 remaining. Martin failed to score, with all of her 14 coming in the first half. But Burton came up with much of her team-best 21 points in a furious, late rally that sliced a 22-point Lynx lead to 11 with 1:56 left.

Janelle Salaun and Carla Leite, the Valkyries’ promising pair of rookies from France, both struggled with just five combined points in 31 minutes on the floor.