{"id":113682,"date":"2025-06-21T04:37:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T04:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/113682\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T04:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T04:37:11","slug":"how-valkyries-stopped-caitlin-clark-indiana-fever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/113682\/","title":{"rendered":"How Valkyries stopped Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Going into Thursday\u2019s game against the Indiana Fever at Chase Center<\/a>, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase made sure that every single one of her players knew the scouting report on Fever phenom Caitlin Clark<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That morning, veteran guard Veronica Burton recited it word for word.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stepback, going left, is lethal but she\u2019s also a three-level scorer who can get to the rim and get to the midrange game,\u201d Burton said. \u201cSo try to be physical, and disrupt as much as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, every team in the league knows what Clark wants to do by now, and actually stopping her from torching defenses with generational shotmaking is another matter entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But that is what the Valkyries did, turning the scouting report solution into reality in an 88-77 win over Clark\u2019s Fever.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Golden State\u2019s amorphous defense perplexed Clark into shooting 3 of 14 for just 11 points while whiffing on all seven of her 3-point attempts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was the first time Clark had not made a triple in a game this season, her worst shooting game by percentage, and the lowest number of shots she had made in any game in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Seven players \u2013 from Kayla Thornton to Burton to rookie guard Carla Leite to former college teammate Kate Martin<\/a> and others \u2013 spent time guarding at least one Clark attempt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So how did the league\u2019s newest and most anonymous team douse the WNBA\u2019s most feared flamethrower?<\/p>\n

Well, it started with quick on-ball defense from wily stoppers, not just rough play. A sequence late in the fourth quarter was a perfect example of speed\u2019s value.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Clark started a hard drive to her left with 8:11 remaining in the fourth quarter, Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes slid her feet to cut off the drive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clark\u2019s next move \u2013 a sudden lunge backward as she gathered the ball to her right hand and prepared for a shot \u2013 has shaken and petrified most defenders in the league. But Hayes is not most defenders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The veteran defender already knew what was coming next \u2026. and reacted perfectly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just followed the gameplan,\u201d Hayes said matter-of-factly. \u201cWe knew we had to stay up on her.\u201d<\/p>\n

She slid forward in tandem with the second-year superstar, whose attempt to get away from the cat-quick veteran resulted in a triple-step tap-dance that was called for a travel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually didn\u2019t see it, and all I saw was Tip (Hayes) just go like this,\u201d Nakase said, throwing her arms up in celebration. \u201cSo I\u2019m like, \u2018It must have been a great defensive stop.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries’ Tiffany Hayes (15) and Chloe Bibby (55) celebrate after defeating the Indiana Fever during their WNBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Indiana Fever 88-77. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quickness was their primary tool, but getting handsy with Clark was another weapon in Golden State\u2019s arsenal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sometimes, that resulted in free throws \u2013 six to be exact \u2013 but it often kept the Fever offense from finding its rhythm as their floor general was harassed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that she doesn\u2019t like physicality,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cWe all know she wants to get to that left stepback \u2026 it\u2019s almost like a layup to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their one-on-one defense was exceptional, but the Valkyries\u2019 team defense was also on point.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Valkyries also committed multiple defenders to hounding Clark, often trapping her in the pick-and-roll and having a third defender floating in the area.<\/p>\n

In the first half, Clark found fellow former No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston repeatedly on the roll, with the South Carolina legend scoring 15 points in the first half off a diet of layups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Boston scored just two more points in the second half, and Clark finished the game with nine assists but also six turnovers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe adjusted, and our low man was there, ready and early,\u201d Nakase said.<\/p>\n

An unheralded player helped make that adjustment possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Laeticia Amihere continued to make the most of her second chance in the Bay Area by morphing into a dogged shotblocker and blocking four shots as a helpside eraser.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amihere\u2019s excellence was no surprise to teammate Thornton, who credited the team\u2019s nine-player rotation and newfound depth for helping lock down another star.<\/p>\n

Nneka Ogwumike scored just six points last week, reigning scoring champion A\u2019ja Wilson had a quiet 16 points in the Valkyries\u2019 recent demolition of the Aces. The Valkyries entered the game holding opponents to a league-best 30 points in the paint.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So how is a roster full of unheralded players suddenly shutting down the best players in the world?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all stars,\u201d Thornton said. \u201cWe all bring something special to the team, and that\u2019s\u00a0 why we are the way we are, and why we\u2019re succeeding way earlier than when people thought we would.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries’ Kayla Thornton (5) speaks to her teammate after defeating the Indiana Fever during their WNBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Indiana Fever 88-77. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Originally Published: June 20, 2025 at 5:35 AM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Going into Thursday\u2019s game against the Indiana Fever at Chase Center, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3786],"tags":[7,159,160,479,4705,164,4025,4024,155,165,6,161,162,163,66,255,458],"class_list":{"0":"post-113682","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golden-state-warriors","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bay-area","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-golden-state","12":"tag-golden-state-valkyries","13":"tag-golden-state-warriors","14":"tag-goldenstate","15":"tag-goldenstatewarriors","16":"tag-inside-sports","17":"tag-latest-headlines","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-peninsula","20":"tag-san-francisco","21":"tag-san-francisco-county","22":"tag-sports","23":"tag-warriors","24":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114719506070936460","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}