Valkyries take aim at another franchise first in visit to Sparks

With their first-ever win now in the record books, the Golden State Valkyries will go for their first-ever revenge victory when they face the Los Angeles Sparks in their first-ever WNBA road game Friday night.

The Sparks spoiled the expansion Valkyries’ opening-night extravaganza last Friday, riding newcomer Kelsey Plum’s 37 points to a runaway 84-67 victory in San Francisco.

The teams have since crossed paths in the standings as they’ve headed in opposite directions.

While the Valkyries rebounded to beat the Washington Mystics 76-74 at home Wednesday night for their inaugural win, the Sparks dropped their home opener 89-75 to the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday before also falling 89-86 on the road against the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday.

One difference between the Valkyries’ first two outings was the WNBA debut of Janelle Salaun in Wednesday’s win. The French silver medalist contributed 10 points, four rebounds and a steal in 28 minutes in her first action since wrapping up MVP honors in the Italian League playoffs last week.

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase was immediately impressed.

“Just having another person who can handle the pick-and-roll just gives them a lot more freedom,” Nakase said of her team’s offensive flow. “Trying to get to the paint is hard. It takes pressure off other players.”

Golden State lost Tiffany Hayes in the second quarter of the win to a nose injury that saw her taken immediately to the locker room with a towel helping to stop the bleeding.

The club’s top performer in the opener with 19 points did not return, and the club has not announced her potential availability for the LA game, but Nakase appeared to indicate the long-term prognosis is good.

“We’re just gonna wait to see how she feels,” Nakase said. “I walked to the locker room (after the win), and she was the first one to open her arms and give me a big hug.”

With or without Hayes, the Valkyries will have to deal with Plum, whose 37-point explosion in the opener was the second-biggest scoring day of her eight-year WNBA career. She had 40 for the Las Vegas Aces in a game at Minnesota in 2023.

The 30-year-old, acquired in an offseason trade, totaled 18 points in the Sparks’ loss to the Lynx, then recorded her 500th career 3-pointer among 25 points against the Mercury.

The Sparks were without another key player in Phoenix, with Rickea Jackson forced to sit out while in concussion protocol. Jackson was injured in the Minnesota game after contributing 13 points in the win at Golden State.

Jackson’s uncertain status has only added to the Sparks’ injury list, which already featured Cameron Brink (recovery from torn ACL) and Rae Burrell (knee), who got hurt in the Valkyries game. The situation has gotten so dire, the club had to request a hardship exception in order to sign Liatu King.

On the positive side, an increased opportunity has helped forward/center Azura Stevens explode from her 11-point, five-rebound effort on opening night to 21 points and six rebounds against the Lynx and then 23 points and 17 rebounds in Phoenix.

“Just unbelievable,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts gushed after the loss to the Mercury. “I’m really proud of her. She’s figuring it out.”

–Field Level Media