Date, Time, Location: Thursday, June 18th, 7:00pm PDT, Chase Center
Broadcast Information: KPIX (Bay Area) and KOVR (Sacramento area), various local affiliates (away team broadcast in territories claimed by the Fever), Fever Direct (away team streaming in territories claimed by the Fever), Amazon Prime (streaming), KGMZ (radio), WIBC (away team radio)
The Golden State Valkyries return home for one of the most anticipated games of the season on Thursday, welcoming the Indiana Fever for the first time. Even in a season of excitement and sellouts, this game has seen particular interest as soon as the schedule was released for fans wishing to see Caitlin Clark visit. The Valkyries will need to focus on themselves amid any potential distractions after their winning streak was snapped by a tough loss on Tuesday.
The Valkyries
Signing Bree Hall, who actually attending training camp with Indiana, puts Golden State at a full twelve player roster for this game and all players are expected to be healthy enough to play. Tiffany Hayes played extended minutes in her return in the last game, so she could move into the starting lineup. The Valkyries selected Temi Fagbenle from the Fever in the expansion draft process, but she will miss the chance to play her former team while she is with the Great Britain national team.
The Opposition
The story for the Indiana Fever has been Caitlin Clark after her strong rookie season last year after entering the league with plenty of attention on her. The team also had the top pick in the previous draft allowing them to pair Aliyah Boston as a promising young post player alongside their young guard. Kelsey Mitchell is the other starting guard, the player with the longest tenure on the team since she was also a high draft pick by the team. Former Stanford player Lexie Hull carved out a role on the wing last season with her defense and shooting and has been in the starting lineup. Their other returnee is backup post player Damiris Dantas.
With the team’s improvement last season, they decided to push towards contention this season, including a revamp of their basketball operations that had them bring back former coach Stephanie White. They cleared salary cap and roster space to sign experienced free agents, including DeWanna Bonner, one of the most prolific scorers in league history, but she will miss this game. Natasha Howard returned to the team where she started her career to be the other starting post player and offer some defensive support.
Indiana was able to make a trade to increase their wing depth, bringing in Sophie Cunningham to give them versatility there. While they also had to send out a pick in the trade, they received a pick that they used to select Mikayla Timpson, the only rookie on their roster as she is still trying to secure a role as a backup post player. The team made two more veteran signings, starting with bringing in Sydney Colson, who was with the Las Vegas Aces at the same time that Natalie Nakase was coaching there, to be a backup option at point guard. The Fever then signed Brianna Turner to give themselves another defensive option in the post.
The Fever enter the game with a 6-5 record, but that includes a 2-3 mark during the games that Caitlin Clark missed recently due to an injury. They are coming off two emotional wins at home since her return and have also clinched the spot as the Eastern Conference representative in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game. This will also be a matchup of four-year college teammates when Clark and Kate Martin square off and when Aliyah Boston and Laeticia Amihere face one another. With Indiana starting to pick up momentum and the Valkyries missing so many rotation players, this will be a tough time to play the Fever.
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