After holding Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark to 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field and 0-of-7 from 3-point territory.
In front of a raucous Chase Center crowd, Golden State gave Clark fits on Thursday night. Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase was asked to share the secret for her team’s defensive successes against Clark.
“I mean, you guys saw what we’re doing. We were being disruptive. We know she doesn’t like physicality,” Nakase said. “We know she wants to get to that left stepback. I watched her at Iowa. She loves that left stepback, it’s almost like a layup for her. So we were just making sure she wasn’t getting into rhythm and then that she was seeing multiple bodies.”
While it’s no secret that teams across the league have been trying to apply physical pressure on Clark since she arrived in the league, the challenge of executing such tactics for a full game has rarely been achieved.
Golden State’s defensive approach will continue to be commonplace against Clark and occasionally could create some of the hostility that erupted during Indiana’s June 14 win against the Connecticut Sun.
The Fever and Valkyries will meet again on July 9 from Indianapolis where Clark will undoubtedly have plenty of motivation to make amends and to let Golden State witness her scoring abilities in front of a crazed Fever faithful.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Golden State coach unearths blueprint for slowing Caitlin Clark
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
