It’s not uncommon to hear players in various sports leagues say their fans are the “best fans in the league.” However, Ballhalla (Chase Center) has a different kind of swag to it, and numbers that back up its case to be the best home court advantage in the WNBA.
There’s 44 games in the WNBA regular season and each team has 22 home games. The Valkyries have sold out 22/22 games at Ballhalla in their inaugural season, while setting a record for fan attendance this season in the WNBA. The Valkyries went 14-8 at home this year, but they’re currently 9-11 on the road.
In the beginning of the year, the Valkyries weren’t expecting to sell out most of their games because they had low expectations. Fast forward to today, and people are debating whether Valkyries games are louder than Golden State Warriors games at Chase Center.
“We have the best crowd,” is what head coach Natalie Nakase believes. Even in a loss to the first place Minnesota Lynx, many Valkyries fans remain optimistic about the upcoming playoffs.
Going into the game, the Lynx closed as 6.5 point favorites over a Valkyries team that was riding a season-high five game winning streak. Late in the third quarter, Minnesota went on a 16-0 run which included a 3-pointer from Naphessa Collier and two threes from Natisha Hiedeman. Minnesota had a nine point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Valkyries cut the lead down to two, but ultimately weren’t able to complete the comeback.
MVP candidate Collier finished with 20 points on 6/16 shooting. “I’m not happy with [Collier scoring] 20 points … she was popping almost every pick and roll [and] we gotta clean that up,” said Nakase. Hiedeman had 24 points off the bench for Minnesota to lead the game in scoring. Collier and Hiedeman both shoot just below 40 percent from beyond the arc this season.
The Valkyries will play the Lynx again in Minnesota on Sep. 11, which will be the last game of the regular season.
It was also recently announced that the Valkyries will host a playoff game at SAP Center in San Jose. The Laver Cup (tennis) is being held at Chase Center from Sep. 19-21, and conflicts with the timing of the Valkyries home playoff game.
