VanDerveer retired after the Cardinal’s Sweet 16 exit, and Iriafen returned home to Los Angeles, transferring to USC to join college basketball superstar Juju Watkins. She went on to earn all-Big Ten first-team honors this past season and helped lead the Trojans to an Elite Eight appearance.

Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase says her rookies, Janelle Salaün and Carla Leite, are doing n incredible job so far.

While the Golden State Warriors' regular season is wrapped up, Friday marked the start of a new hoops campaign at San Francisco's Chase Center. In front of a packed house, the Bay Area welcomed the Golden State Valkyries to the WNBA.

WNBA action has officially hit the court at Chase Center. The Golden State Valkyries played their first game as a WNBA franchise Friday night in a 71-62 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. While it wasn't a winning effort, it was safe to say the crowd was entertained.

It was a special moment.” .@julie35vanloo FEELING IT on opening night with 3 straight threes! pic.twitter.com/vKFqSnBMuw — Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) May 17, 2025 It didn’t matter that the Valkyries still trailed by six in the third quarter.

Fans were allowed in at 5:30, and Brie Reddick of San Bruno, adorned in her own Valkyries T-shirt, was among the first to absorb the scene and has been waiting for a Bay Area franchise since the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA folded following the 2009 season after playing two years.

The fans in the packed arena were decked out in matching purple T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “First of a Lifetime.”

Heading into the season, Paige Bueckers was the unanimous prediction for rookie of the year. The Dallas Wings guard was the clear No. 1 pick in the draft, and some WNBA talent evaluators see her as a potential MVP- or Hall of Fame-level player.