MINNEAPOLIS -- Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase made a plea for the league's officials to give her team a "fair fight" and a "clean fight" following a lopsided 101-72 loss against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series Sunday.

The Valkyries led 28-21 at the end of the first quarter, the result of a strong defensive effort (Minnesota missed 12 of 20 field goal attempts) and slick shooting (Golden State was 5-for-8 from beyond the arc). Then, the Lynx -- the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and the team with the best offensive and defensive ratings in the WNBA -- shook off their slow start to dominate the rest of the game.

But Nakase, who was given a technical foul for arguing a call in the second half, said the officiating impacted her team's ability

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