Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase called out the referees after her team lost 101-72 to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of their WNBA playoff series on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
The Lynx, who advanced to last year’s WNBA Finals, earned the No. 1 seed in the 2025 playoffs, while the Valkyries, who became the first WNBA expansion team to make the playoffs in their inaugural season, are the No. 8 seed.
‘When Iliana Rupert is trying to fight for the rebound and she’s getting called for a foul on a rebound, it takes our aggression away and that’s where I’m not OK with it,’ Nakase said. ‘I want a fair fight. I really do. I want a clean fight, but I love the fact that both teams are playing their hearts out. They’re fighting. But I would like it to be fair.
‘And for me, that’s why I got a [technical foul] because at what point is it going to be fair?’
Nakase was given a technical foul for arguing a call in the second half. After the game, she inferred that the refs might be playing favorites. The Lynx had the best record in the regular season at 34-10, while the Valkyries were 23-21.
‘We’re playing the No. 1 team,’ she said. ‘We’re playing the best team in the league. They don’t need no help. This team is great. They’re stacked. They play well. They play beautiful basketball. They’re coached well. They don’t need the help.’
The Valkyries had 22 team fouls and 27 free throw attempts, while the Lynx finished with 23 team fouls and 24 free throw attempts. But after Golden State took a 28-21 in the first quarter, Minnesota had 11 free throw attempts in the second quarter and the Valkyries had one. Over the final three quarters of the game, the Lynx outscored the Valkyries 80-44.
The Lynx travel to Golden State for Game 2 of the best-of-three series on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) at SAP Center in San Jose, California. It will be telecast on ESPN.