‘It felt like a playoff game’: Five takeaways from Valkyries’ preseason debut

SAN FRANCISCO The scoreboard exhibited an - loss for the Golden State Valkyries in their preseason debut yet the vibes inside Chase Center would suggest otherwise Despite falling to the Los Angeles Sparks in their first-ever preseason match the Valkyries exhibited promise and left the floor to a standing ovation from the Bay Area crowd It felt like a playoff challenge head coach Natalie Nakase revealed Our players played with so much passion and as soon as you saw us dive on the floor or give a tough foul or a block a shot that crowd just responded The Valkyries rallied from a -point halftime deficit and tied the match two separate times in the second half but fell just short in the end as Laeticia Amihere s buzzer-beating -pointer cut the Los Angeles lead from four the clock hit zeroes Still Golden State came away from Tuesday s encounter content with its effort It was a blessing in the end seeing this all come to pass nine-year veteran Kayla Thornton mentioned Even though we didn t get the outcome we sought the cheers and stuff like that was great This was our first event and I thought we did a tremendous job Fans cheer before the Golden State Valkyries first WNBA pre-season competition against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Tuesday May Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group Here are five takeaways from the Valkyries first preseason battle Golden State has solid trio in starting lineup While the starting lineup will continue to be tweaked over the next limited weeks the Valkyries seem to have a solid scoring trio of Kayla Thornton Monique Billings and Tiffany Hayes The three starters all had a positive plus-minus rating in nearly minutes of play and combined for points rebounds and five assists Their IQ just works Nakase explained They can all shoot threes so the spacing is all around the three-point line The trio was instrumental in bringing the Valkyries back from a -point deficit at halftime orchestrating a - run that shifted momentum in the second half We re still all learning from each other but I think we did a great job coming out of the second half Thornton disclosed Golden State Valkyries Kayla Thornton Temi Fagbenle Veronica Burton and Tiffany Hayes defend Los Angeles Sparks Dearica Hamby after a loose ball in the third quarter of their WNBA pre-season event at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Tuesday May Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group Amihere pushes for rotation spot Before Tuesday Amihere s role on the band was relatively unknown The former first-round pick was claimed by Golden State off waivers in February after struggling to find a role with the Atlanta Dream last season But after leading the Valkyries with points Amihere looks to be carving out a spot in Nakase s rotation The -foot- forward started the second quarter and was a steady scoring presence helping the Valkyries keep pace with the Sparks until the final seconds of the challenge She s almost like a big guard and I think it s going to be very challenging for other teams to guard her because we can stretch her out Nakase reported Amihere shot for from the field which included going for from the three-point line She scored five baskets in the paint on a myriad of moves from both the high and low post I was just keeping it simple Amihere stated I think this offense and how we move as a band is very conducive to how I like to play Golden State Valkyries Laeticia Amihere is congratulated by teammate Megan Toure after scoring a basket and drawing a foul in the fourth quarter of their WNBA pre-season match against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Tuesday May Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group Interior defense requirements work The Valkyries entered Tuesday s challenge missing front court depth as Cecilia Zandalasini and Stephanie Talbot were ruled inactive hours before tipoff The Sparks took advantage of that early with their starters in the encounter Los Angeles guard Kelsey Plum drove at the rim at will in the first two quarters creating for herself and others The Sparks scored paint points in the first half at a nearly clip Rookie guard impresses in WNBA debut French guard Carla Leite is one of the more intriguing pieces to the Valkyries roster She was drafted ninth overall by the Dallas Wings in but opted to remain overseas last year She was picked up in the expansion draft in December and was considered one of the more talented guards during training camp She only scored four points and dished out two assists in minutes of action but indicated flashes of becoming a key guard in the rotation Leite had a smooth driving layup in the first quarter that garnered oohs and aahs from the crowd If she sees a lane she just goes and that s hard Nakase stated Just to see players that have that fearless mindset I admire that Related Articles Stephen Curry update Hard to imagine Warriors star will be ready for Battle Jimmy Butler-led Warriors steal Event from Wolves after Curry leaves with injury Valkyries show fight but fall short in preseason loss to Los Angeles Sparks Stephen Curry leaves Warriors playoff challenge vs Timberwolves ruled out Warriors Buddy Hield has wardrobe malfunction in Meeting vs Timberwolves What does the rotation look like After cutting guard second-round pick Shyanne Sellers on Saturday the Valkyries roster sits at players Golden State dressed players against the Sparks with injuries to Zandalasini and Talbot and French forward Janelle Sala n is expected to join the roster sometime before the end of training camp While everyone who dressed saw the court on Tuesday Nakase looks to have solidified a core group of players that includes the starters Amihere Leite veteran Julie Vanloo and second-year guard Kate Martin Those were the nine players that played in the first half against the Sparks starters That leaves Chloe Bibby Kaitlyn Chen Elissa Cunane Kyara Linskens and Mamignan Toure on the fringes of making the roster Nakase mentioned she did like what the group did to help bring the Valkyries back in the second half but with the roster needing to be cut down to before Golden State s season opener next week it will be an uphill battle for the players who didn t play in the first half to make the group The Valkyries will play their final preseason battle on Sunday against the Phoenix Mercury on the road before their season opener at Chase Center against the Sparks on May The Golden State Valkyries huddle after their - WNBA pre-season loss to the Los Angeles Sparks at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Tuesday May Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group