And it was the Golden State Valkyries — the team that’s been together all of two months, the team that came in without a star name on their marquee, the team that had investment and excitement behind it but tempered external expectations about what could be accomplished — that came out on top.
It wasn’t merely the Valkyries’ 88-77 victory over Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever, a team with established WNBA title-contending aspirations, that won the evening.
It was another sellout crowd of more than 18,000. Six in a row for those who are counting.
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It was the sustained noise that said crowd brought from beginning to end that is turning the Chase Center into one of the most harrowing venues in the league for WNBA opponents.
It was a Valkyries team that should be hobbled by the number of its key players who are gone for the EuroBasket Tournament, proving again that they are a sum-of-their-parts squad with a comeback effort. Down 13 in the third quarter, the Valkyries would outscore Indiana 33-18 in the final quarter win by 11 points.
“Everyone was locked in,” said Kayla Thornton, who led Golden State with 16 points and five 3-pointers.
Golden State’s players have been a seamless fit for Natalie Nakase’s coaching, which has been simply stellar. The gameplan the team’s front office created for this inaugural season is working exactly as intended. Golden State found a way they wanted to play, with speed, defensive intensity and offensive balance, and an identity and then found players who would fit the mold they built.
Nakase calls her players “killers,” this collection of former role players seizing the individual opportunities to elevate their careers.
“This is what we’ve seen since training camp,” Nakase said. “You can see the camaraderie that’s being built. It’s beyond the core philosophy, the offense and the defense. It’s their connectivity, the friendships, them enjoying their time together. All that stuff matters. It brings them together in the high moments and in the low moments.”
Collectively, the Valkyries’ “killers” are killing it.
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Yes, this is a 6-6 team that is currently sitting solidly in playoff position. In those six wins, they have knocked off Las Vegas, Seattle and now Indiana. They have played to the final minutes with New York and Minnesota and Phoenix. They turned a four-game losing streak into a run of four wins in five games with 2-10 Connecticut next up on the schedule.
On Thursday night, five players — led by Thornton’s 16-point effort, finished in double figures. The bench scored 45 points, and defensively, the Valkyries’ held Caitlin Clark to 11 points and without a 3-pointer for only the second time in her young professional career.
All without a player that currently ranks even among the top 25 in WNBA All–Star voting.
The players bristled after the game that they have no “stars” on the roster.
“We’ve got a team full of dawg and we’re relentless and we never give up from top to bottom on our team,” said guard Tiffany Hayes. “We need everyone on this team and we know that so we look to literally everybody on this team to contribute.”
Thornton was the Western Conference Player of the Week last week for the first time in her career.
“I think we are all stars in our own way,” Thornton said. “We all have our little things that we bring. We are stars, and that’s why we are the way we are and I think that’s why we are succeeding way earlier than people’s expectations. At the end of the day, from 1 to 12, we are going to bring what we did for other teams here and when we put it together, it’s something special.”
The Valkyries’ collective “special” outshone the league’s biggest star on this night.
On Thursday night, with Clark coming into town for the first time excitement was high. Courtside ticket prices were topping $3,000, fans arriving early to watch Clark at shootaround. The local sports talk radio station did a pregame show on the plaza in front of the arena and media credentials were hard to come by. Parking in the area was double its usual price, a function of the excitement around the game and also because the San Francisco Giants and their new acquisition — Rafael Devers — were playing a day game just down the road at Oracle Park.
While Steph Curry wasn’t in the building because he is on a well-earned vacation, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was in the house as well as U.S. soccer legend Brandi Chastain and Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi. A pair of Clark fans from Iowa flew down from Portland, paying $700 each for their tickets. And the crowd was as loud as it had been all season. Which is saying something.
Outside of a smattering of fans wearing Fever or Iowa jerseys to cheer for Clark, the Golden State fanbase was clearly and loudly on the side of the home team.
Indiana Fever Chief Operating Officer and general manager Amber Cox, who has been in executive positions in Phoenix, Connecticut and Dallas in her career, said the Valkyries have done a “phenomenal job in a very short time.”
“They have created a fantastic and authentic in-game experience,” Cox said. “It’s clear the Bay Area has fully embraced the Valkyries.”
The ceiling is clearly high for this franchise. What an appealing choice this will be next season for high-profile free agents who are getting a taste of an atmosphere — both on the court and in the stands — that will make Golden State a very, very appealing destination.
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