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Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes, catching a pass during a practice\u00a0in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday, told head coach Natalie Nakase that she thought this Golden State team can win a WNBA championship.<\/p>\n
Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
DALLAS\u00a0\u2014 The playoff stage is relatively new for this Golden State Valkyries<\/a> franchise. Their beatdown of the Dallas Wings on Sunday served up their very first postseason win, a taste of what it\u2019s like to be the hunted and fend off a feisty underdog.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Tiffany Hayes<\/a>, it\u2019s a lot more familiar. On Sunday, the 37-year-old WNBA veteran embarked on her eighth trip to the playoffs\u00a0\u2014 and every one has been its own unique experience.<\/p>\n She was the Atlanta Dream\u2019s budding star during a Finals run in 2013, then primary offensive creator. She was an X-factor with the Connecticut Sun in 2023 before joining the Las Vegas Aces as the league\u2019s premier bench performer in 2024. Those teams both fell in the semifinals.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n This time around? Hayes has the Valkyries going all the way.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018We can win it this year,\u2019\u201d head coach Natalie\u00a0Nakase<\/a> said Hayes told her in the week leading up to the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe had that conversation,\u201d Nakase said after Game 1 on Sunday. \u201cWe had that conversation of how hungry she is to win one.\u201d<\/p>\n Coach Natalie Nakase laughs with Valkyries players during a practice\u00a0in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. Golden State will play the Dallas Wings in Game 2 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n For as many times she has gotten close to a title, Hayes ought to be hungry. But underneath that hunger this year is an intuition that this team just feels different than previous\u00a0also-rans.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s our camaraderie. How we all jelled together,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cOur willingness to learn and keep learning throughout the season and not be satisfied with where we\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\n Chemistry and positive vibes may be a perceived advantage, but Hayes points out Golden State\u2019s true advantage: Their bench, where Hayes, a former Sixth Player of the Year, leads the way.<\/p>\n \u201cI think once we come in, we don\u2019t let up,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cWe want this from start to finish. When I say start to finish, I mean from the first person to the last person. Everybody\u2019s coming in and giving their all, and then the next person\u2019s coming in and doing the same. So it\u2019s kind of hard for other teams to keep up. That\u2019s the biggest difference.\u201d<\/p>\n The Valkyries\u2019 postseason chances may be hampered by the absence of a star scorer. But the way they differentiate themselves from the rest is with a bench that leads the league in scoring and offensive rating.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes greets teammates during a practice\u00a0in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. The team will play the Dallas Wings in Game 2 of the first round of the\u00a0WNBA playoffs on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n As Wings head coach Jose Fernandez acknowledged after losing Game 1 by 24 points, \u201cGolden State\u2019s strength is their bench. They\u2019ve got the No. 1 bench in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n That was perhaps best exemplified in the second quarter of Game 1, when the Valkyries scored a franchise-high 37 points (for any quarter) and pulled away. That explosive quarter doesn\u2019t happen without Hayes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Valkyries played the first quarter tight and fell behind early, missing shots while Wings star Paige Bueckers drained difficult shots despite Gabby Williams<\/a>\u2019 best efforts to contain her.\u00a0<\/p>\n The energy shifted once Hayes checked in the final four minutes of the frame. She started out with a steal and layup in transition, then she scored five more points before the buzzer rang with Golden State down just one.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Hayes kicked off the second quarter with a pair of 3-pointers and the rest of her teammates on the floor looked inspired. Kayla Thornton<\/a> and Cecilia Zandalasini<\/a> found their stride, the defense forced turnovers and the Valkyries had a 27-point lead by the half.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hayes had 15 points in nine minutes, ending up with 21 points for the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just taking what the game gives me at all times,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cIt just so happened to be that I was the one that\u2019s open on a lot of those. Normally, I\u2019m the playmaker, so just learning to make the right reads in the game where I was open and knocking down the shots.\u201d<\/p>\n Depth may be the key to the Valkyries\u2019 success, but a veteran player with loads of playoff experience is doing that little bit extra by helping her teammates unclench.\u00a0<\/p>\n Valkyries guards Tiffany Hayes and Kaitlyn Chen dance during a team practice in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. Hayes cited the\u00a0team\u2019s camaraderie as one reason she thinks Golden State can win a WNBA championship.<\/p>\n Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n That\u2019s happening behind the scenes, too. The\u00a0Valkyries create mini games during their practices and film sessions, and Hayes got feisty during their latest one, here in Dallas on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe did a competition today after our film and she took it so seriously,\u201d Nakase said, without disclosing details. \u201cI thought she was going to punch me in the face because I changed a rule.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite that seriousness as a competitor,\u00a0 Hayes has shown her teammates how it\u2019s done while also keeping it light in the process.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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