"Forced to move their lone home playoff game to the SAP Center in San Jose because of a scheduling conflict at Chase Center, the unrivaled atmosphere of Balhalla migrated south with a sellout of 18,543 fans. After they were eliminated, the capacity crowd gave the team a standing ovation. It kind of felt like we won, said guard Tiffany Hayes, who didn't play because of a knee injury."
"That was one of the points in Natalie's speech: We want to win a championship. That's what this organization is trying to build, and this is just one step, said center Iliana Rupert, who finished with eight points in 32 minutes. I don't know how many times. she said it, but she's really proud of us. She told us that, even her, she didn't really know what to expect and never would have believed we could accomplish so much. It was a really beautiful moment."
Monique Billings and Kaitlyn Chen shared an emotional moment after the Valkyries' season-ending 75-74 loss to the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx, which followed a blown 17-point lead. The expansion franchise reached the WNBA postseason in its inaugural year, surprising the league while maintaining higher ambitions for a championship. Coach Natalie Nakase reminded the team that the playoff appearance is a step toward those goals, and center Iliana Rupert expressed pride and disbelief at the season's accomplishments. The lone home playoff game was moved to the SAP Center, drew a sellout crowd of 18,543, and earned a standing ovation despite the elimination.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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