Monique Billings looking forward to increased minutes as Valkyries’ starting center

SAN FRANCISCO The Golden State Valkyries have lost much of their front court depth after forwards Janelle Sala n and Cecilia Zandalasini and center Temi F gb nl left for EuroBasket last week The Valkyries who came into the season as one of the WNBA s smaller teams now find themselves leaning on seven-year veteran Monique Billings to anchor the paint as the unit s starting center Billings noted she is up to the challenge I m built for this Billings reported prior to Thursday s encounter against the Indiana Fever I just want to be able to patronage wherever I can be a great teammate in any way workable It s not even something I think about Billings made her first start of the season in Tuesday s - loss to the Dallas Wings She scored points grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots during her season-high minutes Golden State signed -foot- forward Chloe Bibby to a hardship contract earlier this week to shore up its frontcourt depth Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase has also used forward Laeticia Amihere as a center in certain small-ball lineups She stepped in and I thought she did a great job Nakase announced of Billings Now she s playing with other starters She s not playing against the second unit For her it s about finding her synergy with Carla Leite and Veronica Burton in the pick and roll Billings declared the gang s expectations won t change even with a plethora of rotation players out of the lineup We have people on our crew right now who have been in camp with us We know the standard Billings noted We have great vets who bring that standard every day So no I don t think that s something that we need to make as an excuse Fresno natives surprise kids Fresno native Janet Chaudoian gave her grandkids Noah and Clayton Bagdanov a surprise they won t forget On Thursday Chaudoian informed the two brothers that they were taking a trip to San Francisco to see their favorite athlete Caitlin Clark We identified out this morning Noah mentioned When they communicated me I didn t believe it But then they established me the tickets and I started jumping up and down Noah and Clayton were decked out in Caitlin Clark attire which included Fever T-shirts and Iowa hats Their mother Ashley Bagdanov declared the family has been watching Clark and Valkyries guard Kate Martin since their days at Iowa We re rocking Caitlin shirts but we re also fans of Aliyah Boston and we are huge Valkyries fans as well Ashley stated With minutes until tipoff the lower bowl at Chase Center was filled with fans donning Clark jerseys and Iowa gear The going rate for day-of tickets for Thursday s challenge was around for upper bowl seats Chaudoian who bought tickets months in advance announced she paid a bit more than the current going rate We got a promotional deal to buy the tickets at the time but we presumably paid more than realm rate Chaudoian commented They were outrageously priced but my grandkids are worth it Noemi Revuelta of Pompano Beach Florida cheers for Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark before the start of their WNBA tournament at Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Thursday June Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Homecoming for Stanford standout Indiana Fever forward Lexie Hull couldn t stop radiating when urged how it felt coming back to the Bay Area It feels so good announced Hull who helped Stanford win a national championship in Just being back on the West Coast feels so good To go out and see various friends from Stanford it just really feels great So I m really happy to be here Hull announced she reserved tickets for family and friends for Thursday s contest with more expected to come She averaged points and rebounds in her four years at Stanford under legendary coach Tara VanDerveer Hull earned all-Pac- honors three times and was named to the all-conference defensive organization twice I think VanDerveer worked really hard on getting us prepared when we were there Hull disclosed I ve definitely taken that into every meeting that I play now She is having a career year with Indiana through the Fever s games averaging points rebounds while shooting from the field Hull explained she is also happy to see a professional women s basketball crew in the Bay Area It s huge There s definitely an appetite for women s basketball across the country Hull noted You see it They re selling out games every night It s just really cool and really special to be in a place close to where I spent four really great years Indiana not fazed by physicality The Fever dominated in their win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday but they didn t leave without particular bruises Indiana s Clark was pushed by Sun guard Marina Mabrey which resulted in Clark s teammate Sophie Cunningham committing a hard foul on Connecticut guard Jacy Sheldon later in the competition Both teams got into multiple dust-ups throughout Tuesday s contest as tensions were high Indiana though hasn t been worried by the increased physicality You see our bruises you see our scratches Hull explained I think part of this battle knowing how it s getting played and getting called We re able to be a tougher club The league upgraded Sheldon s shove on Clark to a Flagrant on Wednesday Clark mentioned she has already moved on It is what it is and my focus is on tonight Clark revealed Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark warms up before the start of their WNBA battle at Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Thursday June Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Related Articles Caitlin Clark explains why she idolizes Warriors superstar Steph Curry Valkyries Kate Martin embracing role ahead of clash with Caitlin Clark Caitlin Clark experience comes to Bay Area where she s a dream come true for girls basketball coaches Caitlin Clark poked in eye bumped to ground as Fever win before visiting Valkyries Valkyries doomed by sloppy play fall to last-place Wings led by Paige Bueckers Fever coach away from association Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White was not on the sidelines for Thursday s meeting as she tended to a unit matter ESPN revealed Thursday morning Assistant coach Austin Kelly stepped in as acting head coach The gang hasn t specified how long White will be out