What we learned from Valkyries’ season-opening loss to L.A. Sparks

SAN FRANCISCO Despite losing a lopsided season-opener to the Los Angeles Sparks the crowd at Chase Center gave the expansion Valkyries a round of applause as they walked off the floor Though the fourth quarter wasn t pretty Golden State proved its fight as the Valkyries nearly came back from a -point deficit in the third quarter But in their first-ever championship the Valkyries went cold in the fourth quarter as they fell - in front of a sellout crowd of at Chase Center Sparks point guard Kelsey Plum torched the Valkyries for points while playing all minutes on Friday night Still the Valkyries set a tone that they hope continues for the rest of the season The Golden State Valkyries huddles before the start of their home opener against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Friday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group With the type of surroundings that we had would I take that every single time every meeting Yes Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase explained But for a lot of them this is the first time to start first time to heavy minutes We ll clean it up we ll take a look at it But I know there s a lot of room for improvement and their effort was there Here are five takeaways from the contest Turnovers shifted the contest The Sparks took advantage of sloppy play from the Valkyries throughout Friday s meeting Golden State turned the ball over times resulting in L A points Despite shooting the Valkyries back into the meeting Julie Vanloo s three fourth-quarter turnovers turned out to be costly for the Valkyries as they attempted to make a run in the final period Vanloo ended the night with a team-high six turnovers while dishing out two assists I m going to think about the six turnovers I did because I m a point guard Vanloo stated I cannot have six turnovers and I know what I have to work on All nine players who checked into the challenge for the Valkyries had at least one turnover Aside from Vanloo Tiffany Hayes Carla Leite and Monique Billings had multiple turnovers Fagbenle shows range Before Friday s event Temi Fagbenle had made just three -pointers in her four-year WNBA career But in her first match with the Valkyries Fagbenle has already shown she could be a stretch in Nakase s offense The -foot- center went for from deep and hit a plethora of midrange shots to keep the Sparks defense honest in the first half She shoots all those threes in practice that she knows she s going to get Nakase revealed A lot of the s will pull in They re just not used to guarding a that s out and stretched on the floor so just credit to her hard work Valkyries Temi Fagbenle takes a shot against Sparks Rickea Jackson in the first quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Friday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Vanloo s flurry ignites crowd The Sparks seemingly had the challenge in complete control in the third quarter as they held onto a -point lead with three minutes left in the period But it was Vanloo who brought the Valkyries all the way back to make things competitive going into the fourth quarter In a matter of a minute Vanloo knocked down three consecutive s the last of which was a step back with a defender in her face to bring Golden State to within six going into the fourth quarter The crowd fed off Vanloo s buckets exploding with cheers as each shot went through the bottom of the net With Steve Kerr sitting courtside the veteran point guard jokingly communicated the Golden State Warriors coach that she could fill in for Stephen Curry The moment I saw Steve Kerr I just got hyped Vanloo explained I disclosed All right let me show him something ' Vanloo came off the bench to amount points Nakase revealed she liked Vanloo s fearlessness during that moment You re going to get passion and the fans are going to get firsthand that type of action Nakase explained I want her to be herself Zone defense worked In the second quarter the Valkyries used a high-pressure - zone that seemed to bother the Sparks Golden State only used the tactic for a handful of possessions but the strategy resulted in a forced turnover and no points scored by LA We really didn t even practice the zone that much so that was a positive I took away Nakase disclosed You inevitably want to keep teams off rhythm I just desired to try it and see how it worked and it worked The Golden State Valkyries huddle during a time out during the third quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Friday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Home-court advantage While it was just the first challenge of the season the Chase Center advantage was in full force The sellout crowd kept the strength going all night even when the challenge was slipping away for the Valkyries Related Articles Valkyries second-half comeback falls short as Golden State drops season opener to L A Sparks Expansion Valkyries make history with WNBA opener at Chase Center Bay Area vs L A Valkyries Sparks to ignite California rivalry on WNBA s opening night How Valkyries Nakase rose from coaching depths to make Asian-American history How to watch the Valkyries season opener against the Sparks I had a lot of fun out there and I enjoyed the potential from the crowd Hayes revealed The Valkyries went all out to pay homage to the Bay Area in their first-ever challenge Oakland R B artist Goapele sang the national anthem Legendary Vallejo rapper E- performed specific of his biggest hits during the halftime show And Golden State Warriors players Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski were in attendance It was loud Nakase explained That s exactly what I desired If I could have dreamed of an habitat the hostility of it just the roars the screams the shouts That crowd they re going to assistance us regardless So yeah I need to have that type of crowd It s just it s surreal Valkyries Monique Billings takes a shot against Sparks Azur Stevens and Sparks Dearica Hamby during the fourth quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Friday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group