Valkyries Coach Cites Using Physicality to Keep Caitlin Clark Contained
The Golden State Valkyries produced a gritty and hard-fought performance against the Indiana Fever on June 19, which resulted in an impressive 88-77 win in front of their Chase Center home crowd.
It's no secret that the key to Indiana's offense is star guard Caitlin Clark. Not only is she a lethal scoring threat who can bury teams if she catches fire from three-point range, but her playmaking and facilitating for teammates is what turns the Fever into one of the toughest teams to game plan for and guard against.
However, Clark posed little threat to the Valkyries on Thursday, as she finished the loss with 11 points (on 3 of 14 shooting, including 0-7 from three-point range), 9 assists, 7 rebounds, and 6 turnovers, all of which making for one of Clark's poorest performances in recent memory.
After the game, Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase detailed what her team did to slow Clark down.
"I mean, you guys saw what we were doing... We were being disruptive, we know she doesn’t like physicality," Nakase said, per an X post from Kenzo Fukuda of ClutchPoints. "And we know she wants to get back to that left stepback.
"I mean, I watched her at Iowa. So she loves that left stepback. It's almost like a layup for her," Nakase added. "So again, just making sure she wasn't getting into rhythm, and that she was just seeing multiple bodies."
After the game, Natalie Nakase talked about what the Valkyries did to slow Caitlin Clark down:
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) June 20, 2025
“We were being disruptive, we know she doesn’t like physicality. And we know she wants to get back to that left stepback.” https://t.co/tp2swMeK6I pic.twitter.com/2MpFMLFVIQ
Clark's next chance against the Valkyries will come at home on July 9.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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