Darren Yamashita, Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Valkyries Coach Sends Strong Message on Caitlin Clark

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Parker Johnson | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 7:50 AM ET

Talking about how to stop Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is much easier than doing it.

First-year Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase backed up her talk on Thursday night in an 88-77 win over the Fever, and she let everybody know.

Clark's seventh game of the 2025 season was one of her worst. She finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, but went 3-for-14 from the field and turned the ball over six times in the Fever loss.

The Fever star averages 19.9 points per game on 41.7 percent shooting this season. She also makes more than three 3-pointers per game, but Thursday was just the second game of her WNBA career without a three-pointer.

The Valkyries, led by Kayla Thornton's team-high 16 points and nine from Clark's former Iowa teammate Kate Martin off the bench, executed Nakase's strategy to shut down Clark impressively.

“We were being disruptive, we know she doesn’t like physicality," Nakase pinpointed in the postgame press conference. "And we know she wants to get back to that left stepback.”

Their disruptive blitzes on ball screens forced the ball out of Clark's hands and led to several bad passes among her six turnovers.

A look at Caitlin Clark's 6 turnovers vs the Valkyries. One is questionable as Tiff Hayes pushed her during a pass, the others are risky passes. pic.twitter.com/Cz8q6Vt38X
— Cro (@The_Cro_Show) June 20, 2025

The Valkyries coach, who previously worked with the Las Vegas Aces and Los Angeles Clippers, said she has known Clark's tendencies since watching her play in college at Iowa.

She also referenced them before the game when asked how she would stop Clark on Thursday.

"She shoots from the logo, so you can't pick her up at a logo," Nakase said pregame. "That's a super comfortable shot. It's almost like a layup to her, especially going to her left.”

After the game, Natalie Nakase talked about what the Valkyries did to slow Caitlin Clark down:

“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
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) June 20, 2025

With the win, the Valkyries improved to 6-6 on the season, including a 4-2 mark in home games at Chase Center, the arena they have dubbed "Ballhalla."

Under Nakase's leadership, they became the fastest expansion team in WNBA history to reach five wins. They will play the Fever again on July 9 in Indianapolis, and one more time at home on August 31.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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