Valkyries clamp down on Caitlin Clark, pull away in fourth quarter to beat Fever
Stopping Caitlin Clark? No problem for the Golden State Valkyries.
In front of a frenzied sellout Chase Center crowd, Golden State stormed back from a 13-point third-quarter deficit to take down Clark's Indiana Fever 88-77 on Thursday night. The expansion club was powered by 45 bench points and Kayla Thornton 's 16-point showing.
Fans showing up for the Clark Show might have left disappointed, but they did get to witness one of the most exhilarating Valkyries performances in the young franchise's history.
Clark was held without a 3-pointer for only the second time in her WNBA career while being heavily guarded by the combination of Thornton, Veronica Burton and Tiffany Hayes. Clark finished with 11 points, nine assists, six turnovers and shot 3-for-14 in 34 minutes.
'Coach gave us a great game plan,' Hayes said of Natalie Nakase. 'We knew we had to stay up on her. We knew she's a three-level scorer. I think it was a great team defensive game today — everybody was locked in, making sure she didn't get any easy looks.'
After a disappointing effort against league-worst Dallas two days earlier, Thursday's showing was much closer to what Nakase expects from her team.
Valkyries 88, Fever 77
FG FT Reb
INDIANA Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Howard 23:53 6-11 1-1 1-5 2 2 13
Hull 32:45 1-5 0-0 0-3 3 3 3
Boston 29:48 7-11 2-2 3-12 1 5 17
Clark 34:23 3-14 5-5 0-7 9 3 11
Mitchell 33:00 6-11 3-4 0-1 2 5 16
Cunningham 23:54 3-7 0-0 1-6 1 0 9
Colson 13:13 2-3 0-0 0-1 2 2 5
Dantas 8:02 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 2 3
Timpson 0:29 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Turner 0:29 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 200:00 29-66 11-12 5-35 20 22 77
Percentages: FG .439, FT .917.
3-Point Goals: 8-29, .276 (Cunningham 3-7, Boston 1-1, Colson 1-2, Hull 1-2, Dantas 1-3, Mitchell 1-5, Howard 0-2, Clark 0-7).
Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 1.
Blocked Shots: 3 (Boston 3).
Turnovers: 16 (Clark 6, Mitchell 4, Boston 3, Howard 2, Colson).
Steals: 3 (Boston, Clark, Colson).
Technical Fouls: None.
Percentages: FG .429, FT .704.
3-Point Goals: 9-31, .290 (Thornton 5-8, Bibby 2-6, Martin 1-4, Burton 1-6, Leite 0-1, Billings 0-2, Hayes 0-2, Talbot 0-2).
Team Rebounds: 12. Team Turnovers: None.
Blocked Shots: 5 (Amihere 4, Burton).
Turnovers: 7 (Billings 2, Leite 2, Hayes, Martin, Thornton).
Steals: 10 (Talbot 3, Amihere, Bibby, Billings, Hayes, Leite, Martin, Thornton).
Technical Fouls: None.
A_18,064 (18,064). T_2:04.
'That's what I was looking for,' she said. 'Maximum effort for 80 possessions. … We had to make some adjustments, but much happier with the effort.'
Golden State discombobulated the Fever's offense, which turned the ball over 16 times. A fourth-quarter traveling call against Clark led to the possession on which Hayes drove to the rim to give the Valkyries their first second-half lead.
Golden State has taken out teams' top scorers before this season. In a blowout win over Las Vegas last week, the Valkyries double- and triple-teamed center A'ja Wilson, daring other players to shoot from distance. They had an inverse approach against the Fever (6-6).
'We were being disruptive,' Nakase said. 'We know that (Clark) doesn't like physicality. We know that she wants to get to that left step-back. … We were just making sure that she wasn't getting into rhythm and then that she was just seeing multiple bodies.'
With Hayes glued to Clark, the Valkyries sent a double team whenever a pick happened in front of Clark. The Iowa alum didn't make her first field goal until the 4:12 mark of the second quarter. She finished the first half 1-for-8 with three turnovers, two points and six assists.
'They did a really good job of being physical with her,' said interim Indiana coach Austin Kelly, who was filling in for Stephanie White, who was away due to a personal matter. 'That's going to be the game plan all year long. I thought early on we were moving it … but we got away from that in the second half. I think the lack of ball movement allowed them to really beat her up. When we move it, a lot of good things happen, we are able to punch it, we get to our sprays, and it gets back to her. That's when she is going to get the good looks. But they did a good job of being physical and making it tough for her.'
The Valkyries struggled to contain center Aliyah Boston, who scored 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting for the best paint-scoring team in the WNBA. But she scored just two points in the second half while the Valkyries surged.
'We were not guarding her the right way' in the first half, Nakase said. 'They were rolling into certain actions, so we adjusted it, and our (guard) was there, ready and early. (In the first half) we were late. We were getting backdoor cut. We were giving up layups. That's not what we wanted, because they're the top team in paint points.'
The Valkyries shot 35.1% from the floor in the opening two stanzas, even while playing a strong defensive game. Indiana went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter to take its 13-point lead, but Golden State stormed back with a 26-11 run in the fourth.
The Valkyries went up 76-70 on a Monique Billings and-1 with 3:23 left. They extended their lead to eight points on two Chloe Bibby free throws. Forward Laeticia Amihere blocked a Lexie Bull layup attempt before Thornton sank her fifth 3-pointer of the night to put the Valkyries ahead by 11.
'We keep talking about how we want to be the best defensive team,' Nakase said. 'We'll hang our hats on the defensive end. In the first half, we're like, that ain't our best, so we wanted to make sure they saw our best. In terms of disruption, physicality and finishing with a rebound, that's what you saw tonight.'
The Valkyries shot 51.5% from the field in the second half after going ice cold in the second quarter. They had a 6:20 stretch in that frame in which they missed seven consecutive shots, allowing Indiana to get on a roll.
The bench awoke in the third quarter, guided by Bibby. The Australian forward tallied 12 points and was a game-high plus-25 in her first WNBA contest. She hit two 3-pointers and notched a steal while being assigned to Boston late in the contest.
'Whatever my reads are, I'm going to do whatever they ask of me,' she said. 'The crowd was just loud as heck. It was incredible. Their energy, I think everybody just fed off of it, and it just made it so much fun.'
Golden State faces Connecticut (2-10 entering Friday) on Sunday in the second of a five-game homestand. Thursday night was a rebound performance, but also a message to the league: The Valkyries can defend with the best of them.
'It just shows that we wanted in Dallas to think it was going to be easy, because their record, and the record is not who they are,' Thornton said. 'That is a wakeup. I'm glad we went through that, because we came in today focused on what we needed to. (Indiana) team, and we just executed what we needed to. … We got back to where we needed to.'
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He was dominating Triple-A and deserved to be in the big leagues. Then his command started to waver in recent weeks, but this feels 100% like a player who has nothing left to prove but is either pressing too much as he tries to do anything to earn a call-up or pitching frustrated because he knows his performance doesn't actually matter. I'm not at all worried about his command. However, Burns is possibly a better overall pitching prospect than Chandler, and he's now in Triple-A too. I don't think Burns gets a shot before August because I don't realistically think the Reds will stay in playoff contention in a loaded NL race. However, I might be wrong, and the Reds could feel compelled to give him a shot to push them closer to the postseason. SUNDAY UPDATE: Obviously, I was wrong. The Reds have decided to be really aggressive with Burns and are calling him up to start on Tuesday. He should be scooped up in all leagues. I hate the ballpark, and this is a RAPID rise for a player who started the year in High-A, so we have no idea what to expect against MLB hitters. That said, he is incredibly talented and is worth a gamble. Robert Garcia - RP, TEX: 18% rostered Garcia is now the closer in Texas. I think. He has four saves in the last month, but his ratios have been pretty problematic, and Texas is not winning as many games as we thought they would at the start of the season. They could get hot at any moment, and Garcia has been scoreless in six of his last eight appearances, but he has not proven to be a truly lockdown reliever. Plus, he's a left-handed reliever, which gives him a platoon disadvantage against most of the hitters he's going to face. He threw on back-to-back nights this week, which allowed Chris Martin - RP, TEX (20% rostered) to pick up the save. I think Texas would rather have Martin in the "fireman" role, but it's hard to tell at this point. I'd probably rather roster Orion Kerkering - RP, PHI (21% rostered), who has converted the last two save chances for the Phillies. After Jordan Romano seemed to take the closer's role back over, Kerkering has been the team's most trusted reliever of late. He hasn't given up a run in his last 16.1 innings, and even if I expect the Phillies to mix and match some save opportunities going forward, I feel confident about Kerkering not torpedoing your ratios. Edward Cabrera - SP, MIA: 17% rostered Cabrera looked so good early in his start against Washington last week, but then he got stepped on while covering first base and was laboring. He allowed a home run immediately after the injury and was then removed from the game. Then he returned to the mound this week against the Phillies and threw six shutout innings before an inherited runner scored in the seventh. He had a ridiculous 37% whiff rate and remains a pitcher I think could truly break out this second half (and then maybe get traded to a contender?) The right-hander has long tantalized with his upside and disappointed with his command, but he is making some pitch mix changes that caught my attention. I dug into him for my starting pitcher news column last week, so I'd encourage you to check that out for a more detailed breakdown. Advertisement Emmett Sheehan - SP, LAD: 10% rostered Sheehan made his season debut on Wednesday and looked good, throwing four scoreless innings against the Padres with six strikeouts. It was his first MLB start since undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he showcased a solid three-pitch mix with a four-seamer, slider, and changeup. He was 95 mph on the four-seamer with two inches more iVB, which got him to 17", and he also threw them upstairs. The slider and changeup were solid, and even if he's not a huge upside arm, he has a solid arsenal with command that should continue to improve as the year progresses. I know the Dodgers sent him down after the start, but I think he'll be back up in short order, and I'd be interested. Just don't expect him to go longer than five innings in his starts. Joe Boyle - SP, TB: 6% rostered I will fully admit that I was out on Boyle as a starter. I thought Tampa Bay might "fix" him by moving him into the bullpen, but they actually turned him into a solid starter by REDUCING the movement on his pitches. Boyle was unable to harness his pitch mix and throw them in the strike zone, so they gave him a splinker and refused the use of his slider so that he had an easier time throwing strikes. It has worked wonders. In his nine starts since he got a spot start in Tampa Bay earlier in the season, Boyle has a 1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 54/16 K/BB in 46 innings. With Taj Bradley continuing to struggle in Tampa Bay, you'd have to think that the team makes the swap sooner rather than later. Greg Weissert: RP, BOS: 5% rostered Early in the season, Alex Cora said that Aroldis Chapman was Boston's closer, but he would also use him in the eighth inning if an opponent had a big left-handed bat coming up. We took that to mean save chances for Liam Hendriks, but he was never fully healthy. Then we took that to mean save chances for Justin Slaten, but he also ended up on the IL. Lately, that has meant save chances for Greg Weissert. Boston's lineup isn't putting up massive run totals, so fantasy managers in deeper leagues could look to Weissert for those ancillary save chances. Didier Fuentes - SP, ATL: 5% rostered With Chris Sale landing on the IL, it seems like the 20-year-old Fuentes will be sticking around in the Atlanta rotation. While I like his long-term upside, I'm not really bullish on him in redraft leagues. His four-seam fastball has elite specs, and his curveball flashes plus at times, but it's consistent. He also rarely used his splitter in the minors. Given his rapid rise through the minors and his narrow pitch mix, I just don't believe there is going to be enough consistency here to chase in redraft formats. Advertisement Grant Taylor - SP/RP, CWS: 3% rostered The White Sox flame-throwing prospect is up and pitching out of the bullpen for now. Taylor has legit electric stuff, and I think he could be closing for the White Sox in short order. Richard Fitts - SP, BOS: 1% rostered Fitts is with Boston in San Francisco, and I think there's a good chance he is rejoining this rotation with Hunter Dobbins either moving to the bullpen or being sent down. I'm still in the bag for Fitts a bit. He was rushed back from his earlier rehab assignment after a pectoral injury because the Red Sox were without Walker Buehler and Tanner Houck at the time and weren't comfortable with Dobbins pitching three times through a batting order. That clearly backfired, and Fitts returned to Triple-A to essentially finish his rehab assignment, where he has looked really sharp. The Yankees also announced that Alan Winans - SP, NYY (1% rostered) will be called up to take Ryan Yabrough's place. Winans has been great in Triple-A this season, posting a 0.90 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 59/13 K/BB in 50 innings. I hate his matchup in Cincinnati, but he may be a better bet for the Yankees rotation until Luis Gil comes back than Marcus Stroman. STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS MUST BE 40% ROSTERED ON YAHOO OR UNDER (ranked in loose order)
