Nakase Collapses; Valkyries Clinch Historic Playoff Win

Chris Dalton · 2026-10-03T06:20:12.785Z

Nakase must have been hurting bad but she stuck it out to guide them through that 77-73 finish. Tough call but it paid off for the first series win.

10 sourcesUpdated Oct 3, 20261 min read

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Nakase Collapses; Valkyries Clinch Historic Playoff Win — Photo: John Mac / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase collapsed to her knees near the sideline with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter of Game 3 against the Dallas Wings on Oct. 2, 2026, at Chase Center. She went down during a conversation with a referee just after Gabby Williams hit a 3-pointer. Kaitlyn Chen, Kasib Powell and Sugar Rodgers came to her aid, and athletic trainer Katelin Knox helped her up. Nakase returned to draw up a play, won a video challenge and coached through the final buzzer as Golden State rallied from 16 points down to win 77-73, clinching its first playoff series victory. The Valkyries host the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the semifinals on Sunday. Nakase left the court escorted by a staff member after the buzzer and did not attend the postgame news conference. Assistant Kasib Powell said the team was still trying to figure out what happened but that Nakase was fine, laughing and in great spirits and would not miss Sunday for anything. Guard Gabby Williams said Nakase was OK and the team was happy she was fine. Rated coverage came only from left-leaning sources, a sourcing gap rather than an ideological split.

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In this story:Natalie Nakase

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Natalie Nakase

Golden State Valkyries first-round playoff series winstory 1 of 2 · since Oct 3, 2026

Oct 3, 2026Oct 5, 2026

Oct 3, 2026Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase collapsed late in Game 3 but coached Golden State to a 77-73 win and the series.
Oct 3, 2026Arike Ogunbowale scored a WNBA playoff-record 45 points to lead the Valkyries past the Wings 108-100 in Game 2.

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How it spread

Broke sportsnet.ca · Oct 2, 9:02 PM ETLeft +3h10 sources +5h on

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Derek Foss⚡53d
Golden State finally gets a playoff series victory and it came down to the last two minutes. Dallas fought hard but the Valkyries closed it out when it mattered.
Chris Dalton⚡93d
Nakase must have been hurting bad but she stuck it out to guide them through that 77-73 finish. Tough call but it paid off for the first series win.

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