Head coach Natalie Nakase said before Friday’s game that the Golden State Valkyries offense was built to be “next person up” every game. Without Tiffany Hayes, that was Carla Leite and Janelle Salaün.

Carla Leite scored 19 points, fellow rookie Janelle Salaun had 18, and Kayla Thornton added 14 points and 10 rebounds to help the Golden State Valkyries beat the Los Angeles Sparks 82-73 on Friday ...