Golden State Valkyries make long-awaited WNBA debut

SAN FRANCISCO — Monique Billings caught the ball just over halfcourt in the Golden State Valkyries‘ third offensive possession of their preseason game against the Los Angeles Sparks.

She dropped the ball off to Tiffany Hayes, and then immediately cut toward the hoop, losing her defender and finding herself wide open in the midrange. Hayes got the ball back to her, and Billings took — and made — the shot.

That was a moment 19 months in the making: The first bucket in Golden State history.

Tuesday’s 83-82 home loss to the Sparks was the first game in Valkyries franchise history, the first time the club had played together — and against an opponent — and provided the first glimpse of what the first new WNBA franchise since 2008 looks like.

“They’ve been working on this since 2016, so to see it come to life is amazing,” Kayla Thornton said. “For us to be the first ones to wear this jersey and then go out and see this crowd, it was amazing. Being able to have our fans give us that energy, to be a sixth man out there, especially for the first game, they never wavered. It’s huge.”