Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase collapsed on the court late in the fourth quarter of the 77-73 Game 3 win over the Wings on Friday night in the first round of the WNBA playoffs.
The franchise told ESPN that Nakase felt lightheaded and exhausted, and she is expected to coach Game 1 of the semifinals Sunday against the Aces.
Nakase, 46, coached the team for the remainder of the game, but she did not speak after the victory.
“Natalie’s fine,” assistant coach Kasib Powell said. “Obviously, it’s a quick turnaround, we play again on Sunday. She wouldn’t miss it for anything.
“It’s still new to us, we’re just trying to figure it out. We just know that we seen her afterward and she was fine, laughing, in great spirits. We’ll figure out more as we go, but I think she’s totally fine. She’s talking, she’s laughing in the back. We look forward to preparing and getting ready for Sunday.”
With seventh-seeded Dallas leading 72-71 with 1:40 remaining, Nakase talked to a referee when she suddenly fell to the court.
Two Valkyries staffers and one of the players came over to check on the coach, whose forearms and knees were on the floor with her head tucked.
Nakase eventually started rising, touching her forehead while the staffers aided her to her feet.
She appeared in pain while she walked toward the bench, grimacing while she again ran her hand over her forehead.
“Natalie Nakase having some sort of episode on the floor for Golden State,” ESPN play-by-play man Ryan Ruocco said. “Did she slip perhaps, going out onto the floor?”
Nakase resumed her duties despite the scary episode, coaching her team in the huddle.
“(She) didn’t miss a beat,” Powell said. “We were locked in as that happened. When she went to the sidelines she drew the next play up, she was in the huddle getting on them about getting a stop. She didn’t skip a beat at all. We tried to keep our composure and rally around each other and her.”
The second-seeded Valkyries ultimately scored the next six points — part of an 8-0 run — to rally from a 53-37 third-quarter deficit and secure their first playoff series win in team history in just their second season.
“She’s OK, she’s fine,” Golden State guard Gabby Williams said after scoring 19 points. “We just tried to step up ourselves. We’re just happy that she’s OK.”
Golden State now faces the defending champion Aces in the semifinals after Las Vegas defeated the Fever and superstar Caitlin Clark in three games.
Game 1 is Sunday in San Francisco at 4 p.m. ET, and the series winner will take on either the eighth-seeded Liberty or the fourth-seeded Dream in the WNBA Finals.
“That was amazing,” said Tiffany Hayes, who scored 18 points. “After all that hard work of fighting and clawing back, doing it with this team, it was amazing. … Just proud and grateful to be here with this team.”
