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It's no easy feat to contain Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston to a combined 16 points on 6-of-20 from the field. But that's exactly what the Golden State Valkyries did to snap a two-game losing streak with their 80-61 win over the Indiana Fever.
The Valkyries' balanced defensive game plan in the paint and on the perimeter held Clark and Boston well below their averages. The secret to that defensive game plan wasn't as niche as some might predict when trying to slow down the Fever's All-Star duo.
In her postgame interview with KPIX's Matt Lively, Valkyries' Kate Martin emphasized how their team defense got them back into the win column.
“I think it was our team defense. We covered for each other a lot,” Martin said after the previous two losses in which the Valkyries had emphasized needing to lean more on their defensive identity.
“We were on the same page, and it didn't matter if someone got beat; we were always there to help each other and have each other's backs. And we communicated really, really well on that side of the court so I think that was the biggest difference.”
While it was Clark's first game back from a groin injury, Golden State stuck to the same game plan that limited her in their first matchup. They forced her away from her left, doubled to get the ball out of her hands, and picked her up full-court.
And as All-Star Kayla Thornton pointed out in her postgame press conference, guarding Clark takes an entire team effort.
“Caitlin Clark is Caitlin Clark, you know what I’m saying,” Thornton said. “So I don’t know, it’s just about taking away her tendencies and doing a good job with that. She’s going to get her shot off, no matter what, because that’s just who she is. But like I said, it was just team defense all-around tonight.”
Handling Aliyah Boston with an undersized team
Maybe more impressive than slowing down Caitlin Clark was how Golden State limited Aliyah Boston. While the Valkyries made every one of Clark's shot attempts difficult, they made it almost impossible for Boston to even get up a shot attempt.
Boston shot the ball eight times, below her 11.7 FGA average this season. It was the lowest she's had in a game since June , the second game of the season. After the game, Natalie Nakase talked about how the Valkyries game plan opponents with scoring bigs like Boston.
“Just studying how they are getting their paint points,” Nakase said. She credited her assistant coach, Kasib Powell, with the defensive game plan against the Fever. “We played team defense. I'd say the last two games, we weren't playing team defense. It got a little bit individual. So credit to our players for being coachable, coachable, coachable.”
The Valkyries lack an outright defensive anchor like Napheesa Collier. But they make up for it with their length and lateral speed. As Nakase has pointed out all season, when their rotations are on time and connected, it makes for a hard defense to score on. And with any defense, spirit and grit can help any team and any player overcome physical attributes.
“We’re not the biggest team, but we got big hearts,” Thornton said in the same press conference. “Aliyah Boston is good. Their post players are good. But our post players did a good job of walling up and playing without fouling.”
The Valkyries will complete their four-game road trip with a rematch with the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday.
