Valkyries Guard Tiffany Hayes Caught in Hot Mic Moment After Caitlin Clark Clash

The Indiana Fever beat the Golden State Valkyries for the first time in franchise history on May 22.

Granted, these teams had only played each other three times before last night's contest, as the 2025 season was Golden State's first as a franchise. But the fact that the Valkyries had the Fever's number all of last year still makes this noteworthy.

There was speculation about whether star guard Caitlin Clark would play on Friday night, given that she missed Indiana's previous game against the Portland Fire with a sore back. Clark was not only active but integral in getting a win against the Golden State, as she finished with 22 points (7 of 15 shooting from the field) and 9 assists in 32 minutes played.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Her patented competitive fire was present throughout the contest, especially after one moment between her and Valkyries guard Tiffany (aka Tip) Hayes.

Clark drained a logo three-pointer in the third quarter while Hayes was guarding her. As soon as the shot went in, Clark clearly said something to Hayes, as the two were essentially chest to chest. Hayes took exception to whatever No. 22 said, and the two had what looked to be a heated verbal exchange before play continued.

Several videos of this exchange have gone viral on social media.

Clark and Tiff talking shit lmfao https://t.co/OEgzKbqLvK pic.twitter.com/ACAa5KvrZK
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) May 23, 2026

Tiffany Hayes Seems to Sound Off on Caitlin Clark After Fever vs. Valkyries Game

Hayes was one of two Golden State players who spoke with the media after Friday night's loss. Moments before she sat down, the press conference microphones caught Hayes saying, "They’re never going to start calling a foul on her. If they did, she would never get to play in the games," per a video from the Valkyries' team website.

X user @_girltalk posted a video of Hayes saying this, which is getting a lot of attention on social media.

Tip, before she even sat down, was complaining “they’re never going to start calling the fouls on her. If they did, she would never get to play the game.”

Obvious who she was trying to imply, it’s just ironic considering how the Valks play & how one-sided the officiating was 🙄 pic.twitter.com/BDfeUmBW51
— allison (@_girltalk) May 23, 2026

There's no way of knowing for sure who Hayes was speaking about. But given their clash during the game, it's pretty clear that she was referring to Clark. And that's what social media is concluding as well.

There's definitely something brewing between Indiana and Golden State. And the fact that these two teams play again on May 28 (which is the Fever's next game) means that there might be even more contempt to come.

The Valkyries are playing that game at Chase Center in San Francisco, which means they'll have their home crowd behind them, who will surely be booing Clark.

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