I thought we were playing beautiful basketball. And then all of a sudden the fouls get called consecutively,” Nakase said.

The Lynx were led by Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride, combining for 37 points on 13-21 shooting from the field, while Natisha Hiedeman came off the bench scorching, dropping 18 points on 7-15 shooting and a plus/minus of +32.

Suddenly, the Golden State Valkyries dream expansion season is on life support. The eighth-seeded Valkyries made their postseason debut on Sunday, and lost to the championship-or-best top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 101-72.

The Golden State became the first expansion team to make the postseason in their inaugural season in WNBA history.

Game 1 between the Golden State Valkyries and the Minnesota Lynx ended in 101-72 blowout in the Lynx's favor. Forward Napheesa Collier and guard Kayla McBride l

For Nyanin, it was confirmation. She hired Nakase because she believed she was the right coach. As they put the team together, it was clear she had made a good decision. As the Valkyries took off, surprisingly competitive and headed towards a historic season, all doubt was gone about how well they nailed this hire.

Two years ago, Lacob paid a then-record $50 million fee to own Golden State’s expansion team. The Valkyries became the league’s first expansion team in more than 15 years. Most experts pegged the Valkyries to be one of the worst teams in the league before the season, with popular gambling site BetMGM setting Golden State’s win total at 8.5.

Game 1 between the Golden State Valkyries and Minnesota Lynx ended in a devastating loss for Golden State. The Valkyries haven't had much luck against the Lynx