SAN FRANCISCO – Golden State Valkyries' head coach Natalie Nakase is “fine” after collapsing suddenly while talking to an official during a timeout around the 1:40 mark in the fourth quarter of the team's 77-73 Game 3 win over the Dallas Wings in the first round of the WNBA playoffs.

After the game, Valkyries assistant coach Kasib Powell stepped to the podium for Nakase, providing an update on the head coach's status.

“I just wanted to start with saying Natalie's fine,” Powell said at the start of his postgame press conference. “Obviously, it's a quick turnaround; we play again on Sunday, she wouldn't miss it for anything. I just wanted to start with that, just to say that she's fine… It's still new to us. We're just trying figure it out. We just know that we've seen her afterwards and she was fine, laughing in great spirits.

“We'll know more as we go, but I think she's totally fine. She's talking, she's laughing in the back, so we look forward to preparing and getting ready for Sunday.”

Powell was asked follow-up questions regarding the specifics of Nakase's condition and what got her back up to keep coaching, but declined to answer.

Assistant coach Landon Tatum spoke directly with ClutchPoints, sharing similar details and noting that Nakase was “talking to doctors” after the game. He too emphasized, “I'm sure she'll be okay.”

Kendra Andrews of ESPN reported after the game that Valkyries representatives said that Nakase was “exhausted” and “got lightheaded during the game, but is fine now.” When asked what happened to Nakase in the moment, team sources reiterated to ClutchPoints the same “lightheaded” description.

Nakase continued to coach the rest of the game after suddenly collapsing on the floor, and she “did not miss a beat,” from Powell's perspective.

“We were locked in as that happened,” Powell said. “When she went to the sideline, she drew the next play up. She was in the huddle getting on 'em about getting a stop. We didn't — she didn't — skip a beat at all.

“We tried to keep our composure and just rally around each other and her.”

Article Continues Below

Valkyries' 16-point comeback to win Game 3 vs. Wings

As Powell described, the Valkyries didn't blink once Nakase got back up and kept coaching. As soon as the head coach rose to her feet, Golden State got a stop out of that timeout, and Gabby Williams got herself free for a mid-range pull-up to take a lead that they would never surrender the rest of the way.

Williams finished with a team-high 19 points, Veronica Burton added 16 points, and Tiffany Hayes gave the Valkyries 18 points off the bench to finish off the Wings in an up-and-down winner-takes-all game in the postseason.

This win marked the Valkyries' first-ever playoff series win, but a tough task now lies ahead.

Even with all the excitement of winning a do-or-die Game 3 at home, the Valkyries' attention now turns toward the Las Vegas Aces. With the best player in the world, A'ja Wilson, arriving in town on Sunday, Golden State will need all hands on deck with a trip to the WNBA Finals on the line.

As such, all eyes turn to the status of Nakase.

With less than 48 hours until Sunday's 1 pm PT tipoff, Nakase's ability to coach the first game of this series against Las Vegas is up in the air, given the scary nature of what happened to her. However, Powell made it a point to emphasize that the organization believes Nakase will be ready to coach Game 1 of the semifinals.

“I don't know what got her to that moment or exactly what happened, but we do know that she'll be ready to go for Sunday.”