VanDerveer retired after the Cardinal’s Sweet 16 exit, and Iriafen returned home to Los Angeles, transferring to USC to join college basketball superstar Juju Watkins. She went on to earn all-Big Ten first-team honors this past season and helped lead the Trojans to an Elite Eight appearance.

The Golden State Valkyries are the WNBA's first expansion team since 2008. Here's everything you need to know.

The Golden State Valkyries are adding one more achievement to their already legendary first year. After becoming the 13th franchise in WNBA history and setting an attendance record in their first preseason game,

Fans were allowed in at 5:30, and Brie Reddick of San Bruno, adorned in her own Valkyries T-shirt, was among the first to absorb the scene and has been waiting for a Bay Area franchise since the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA folded following the 2009 season after playing two years.

WNBA action has officially hit the court at Chase Center. The Golden State Valkyries played their first game as a WNBA franchise Friday night in a 71-62 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. While it wasn't a winning effort, it was safe to say the crowd was entertained.

It was a special moment.” .@julie35vanloo FEELING IT on opening night with 3 straight threes! pic.twitter.com/vKFqSnBMuw — Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) May 17, 2025 It didn’t matter that the Valkyries still trailed by six in the third quarter.

The fans in the packed arena were decked out in matching purple T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “First of a Lifetime.”

Irvin and UTEP alum Kayla Thornton scored the first points in Golden State Valkyries history, seven months after she won WNBA title.