The Valkyries bring WNBA basketball to the Bay Area in their franchise debut

SAN FRANCISCO — The fans in the packed arena were decked out in matching purple T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase ''First of a Lifetime.''

After years of hoping the WNBA would come to the Bay Area and more than 18 months after the expansion team was awarded by the league, the Golden State Valkyries made their debut Friday night, hosting the Los Angeles Sparks.

The environment produced by a sellout crowd of 18,064 fans at the 84-67 loss to the Sparks was everything the Valkyries hoped it would be.

''It was amazing,'' guard Tiffany Hayes said after the game. "I enjoyed myself. We got a lot to work on. It was a tough game. But all in all, the crowd really gave us a lot of life out there. I wish we could have gave a little bit more back, but at the end of the day, it's first game from us. We know we have a lot to learn.

''But I had a lot of fun out there and I enjoyed the energy from the crowd.''

Coach Natalie Nakase said she had this day circled on her calendar since the schedule was released and spent the entire day at the arena after waking up at 6 a.m., attending meetings and a shootaround and taking a walk around the empty arena.

While she said the approach should be like any game on any court, she acknowledged the historic moment as well.

''It's special,'' she said before the game. ''Not everyone gets to be chosen to be the first. I do feel lucky that they chose me. They could have chosen a million other candidates that were more qualified. So I take this with a lot of responsibility, but be present and enjoy it the best I can.''

Kayla Thornton scored on the opening possession for the first basket in franchise history and there were quickly chants of ''G-S-V! G-S-V!''

The crowd was at its loudest in the third quarter when Julie Vanloo made three straight 3-pointers to cut the deficit to six points in the type of flurry fans in the Bay Area are used to seeing at Chase Center from Warriors star Stephen Curry.

Vanloo said she was inspired by seeing Warriors coach Steve Kerr in the crowd just before that shooting spree.

''That's why people come here,'' she said. ''This is the Bay Area. This is Chase Center. Magic happens here. I hope I can have a lot of moments like that.''

The WNBA's first expansion team since 2008 has been welcomed with great fanfare in the Bay Area. The team has more than 10,000 season-ticket holders at Chase Center and the arena was packed for a celebratory opener for a night that included a scheduled halftime show from famed Bay Area rapper E-40.

The arena had been transformed from its usual Warriors-themed look with Valkyries purple and the fans delivered in a major way.

''Loud. That's exactly what I wanted,'' Nakase said. ''If I could have dreamed of an environment, the hostility of it, just the roars, the screams, the shouts. Even when Julie hit a couple of 3s coming back, that crowd is gonna support us regardless. To have that type of crowd, is just surreal.''

The team also has some high-profile supporters with San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames wearing a Martin jersey to his game down the street and former U.S. soccer star Brandi Chastain and longtime NBA coach Doc Rivers — one of Nakase's coaching mentors after she worked for him on the Los Angeles Clippers staff — in attendance.

There were also several members of the NBA's Golden State Warriors on hand, including Kerr, Kevon Looney, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski.

''I couldn't be more excited,'' Kerr said. ''I think watching everything unfold over the last year, year and a half since the franchise was formed, it's been incredible to watch. I think the branding has been amazing, the name, the colors, just kind of the unveiling of the team. ... I know tonight is going to be packed. This is just an incredible story.

"We have a lot of people here in this building who deserve a lot of credit for what's about to unfold, so a lot of fun.''

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball