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“Ballhalla” has become a fortress. With 20 consecutive sellouts, the Golden State Valkyries’ home court is synonymous with deafening energy and passion. It’s no coincidence the team boasts a 13-7 record at Chase Center — the fanbase is an undeniable advantage.
But for center Temi Fágbénlé, it might actually be too friendly.
“Our crowd is super, super nice. Even so, in the beginning of the game, when they’re introducing the other team, they are cheering for everyone else. … Let’s stop doing that, please — they’re in our home,” Fágbénlé said, in high spirits after leading the Valkyries and tying her season-high with 16 points.
“When they’re in our home, they’re uncomfortable, and they should feel like they’re not welcome.”
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After the introductions Tuesday night, the crowd was all in favor of the violet and black. And in return, the Valkyries gave fans plenty of reason to cheer in a 66-58 takedown of the reigning champion New York Liberty.
There’s no series that exemplifies the Valkyries’ growth better than their four matchups against the defending champs. Their first meeting May 27, just four games into Golden State’s inaugural season, was a reality check. The Liberty opened with a dominant 27-10 first quarter and cruised to a 28-point rout, never trailing. At the time, the Valkyries looked like what they were: a brand-new team trying to find its footing.
But in their next two meetings, another in Brooklyn and one in San Francisco, Golden State played New York much tighter, keeping the losses competitive and within five points.
Then came Tuesday — a defensive masterclass, and a breakthrough. The eight-point win marks a culmination of season-long growth for Natalie Nakase’s team.
“It’s a journey. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, like they say,” Fágbénlé said of the development since the Liberty matchups early in the season. “We’ve just been growing each day, and we’ve had our goals, just trying to grow 1% each day.”
A loud arena guided Golden State through a back-and-forth first quarter, one that featured the long-awaited return of Monique Billings, who had been sidelined since late July with an ankle injury. The Liberty held a four-point edge, but through an explosive, Kate Martin-led effort from beyond the arc, the Valkyries outscored their opponents 26-8 in the second frame.
The Valkyries extended the lead all the way to 24 in the third quarter, which proved too much for the Liberty to overcome as frequent whistles slowed down the pace.
“The fact that our crowd stayed with it and stayed consistent, as they always do, it really helps us. It really gives us an extra boost of energy,” Martin said after the win — the team’s third in four days.
New York, an offensive powerhouse, is third in offensive rating and averages 85.1 points per game. Sure, they were without one of the league’s best shooters and Bay Area native Sabrina Ionescu, but the Valkyries held the Liberty to a season-low 58 points — on 18-of-57 shooting from the field.
Both former WNBA MVPs, Breanna Stewart (who finished with 19 points) and Jonquel Jones were held to just two and five points for the first half. Fágbénlé, who played 38 out of 40 minutes Tuesday, anchored Golden State in the post and finished +14 for the night.
“It was all defense, truly,” Martin said of Golden State’s impressive second quarter. “We were really connected on that end of the floor … we were just there creating a wall, making it hard for them to pass out of that.”
Given how the Valkyries limited top scorers in the Mystics’ Sonia Citron and the Fever’s Aliyah Boston over the weekend, Nakase couldn’t even be sure that Tuesday’s shutdown of the Liberty bigs could be crowned their best defensive performance in the last week. It’s been a highlight through the past three games.
“We are continuing to climb,” Nakase said. “I think our communication has been elite over the last three games. When we are communicating and we’re executing the game plan, we’re pretty dangerous.”
That communication, particularly on the defensive end, has been the backbone of Golden State’s success, a highlight in every win. It’s exactly how a team that wasn’t expected to win more than about 10 games has now collected 22 and positioned itself firmly in the playoff mix.
“That was the identity that we built — that defense was going to be what we hang our hats on and our defense is what’s going to travel on the road, our defense is going to be what we rely on every night. It was going to be how we were going to win games,” Nakase said.
Just a vision at the beginning of the season, that identity has been tried, shaped, and sharpened over the course of the season.
Built “brick by brick” as Fágbénlé put it, the WNBA’s newest franchise has created more than just a foundation — the Valkyries have constructed a winning season, defying expectations, and making history in the process. With four games left in the regular season, the Valkyries are no longer clinging to playoff hopes; they’re increasingly dangerous and hold a comfortable 2.5-game margin above the final seed.
If the Los Angeles Sparks lose on Wednesday, the Valkyries can clinch a playoff berth as soon as Thursday with a victory over the Dallas Wings at home.
The fight is now for playoff seeding (the top eight teams earn berths) — and with a strong finish, they could climb as high as fifth. It’s been quite the ascent, yes. But this team never saw itself as a typical expansion franchise.
“We didn’t call ourselves an expansion team, the media did,” Nakase said. “We called ourselves a new team from the jump … we don’t want the label of expansion team, we want to create our own story. We want to create our own culture, our own environment. We’ve written it our own way.”