‘Full team effort’: Aces set to get physical with Caitlin Clark, Fever
Since Caitlin Clark and her fan base took the WNBA by storm in 2024, her name has become a mainstay in conversations about the league’s physicality.
As the Aces (5-7) prepare to face her and the Indiana Fever (6-6) at noon Sunday at T-Mobile Arena, that remains true.
“She’s a beast … and she’s just going to continue to keep getting better,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said of the second-year star at Thursday’s practice. “But she’s a player (who) you have to be physical (with). If you just follow her around, she’s going to cook you for dinner.”
Hours after Hammon made that statement, the Golden State Valkyries beat the Fever 88-77. Clark had 11 points and six turnovers in the loss, a quieter showing than her average of 19.9 points per game this season.
Afterward, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase described a game plan that matched Hammon’s observation.
“You guys saw what we were doing. … We were being disruptive. We know she doesn’t like physicality,” the former Aces assistant said.
While the Valkyries’ win didn’t feature any scrutinized hard fouls from or against Clark, games involving the former Iowa star have showcased inconsistencies with the league’s officiating — a topic with which Hammon and her Aces players have taken issue.
In the Aces’ season-opening loss to the Liberty, Jewell Loyd sustained a broken nose from a hit to the face, leading her to wear a mask in subsequent games.
“This is probably the most I’ve ever hit in my life, in my face,” Loyd said Thursday. “But you’ve got to find a way to still be efficient and find ways to win.”
Aces star A’ja Wilson missed three games this season due to a concussion she sustained from a hit to the face in the Aces’ loss to the Sparks on June 11.
Following the Aces’ loss to the Phoenix Mercury on June 15, Hammon reached a frustration point when asked about rookie Aaliyah Nye taking a hard hit to the face and continuing to play in Wilson’s absence.
“It feels like the only way you get a flagrant 2 (foul) is to throw a punch and land it,” Hammon said.
Fighting Fever
In a perfect illustration of that idea, Clark and the Fever’s win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday came to blows, and three players were ejected in the final minute.
Fever guard Sophie Cunningham escalated things to that point when she grabbed Sun guard Jacy Sheldon to thwart a fast-break attempt, causing her to go to the floor, and then held onto the back of her head when she popped up and confronted Cunningham.
As Sheldon and Cunningham struggled, players and coaches rushed in to create a melee.
When asked about the chaotic game, Hammon said she didn’t watch it but agreed with Fever coach Stephanie White’s assessment that the referees lost control of the game based on the snippets.
“I think teammates should step in and defend Caitlin,” Hammon said. “But at the end of the day … there’s too much bumping, too much grabbing, too much fouling that’s not being called. And people get tired of getting hit.”
Cunningham was immediately hit with a flagrant 2 and ejected for her actions, while Sheldon and teammate Lindsay Allen were ejected for fighting. But that moment with 46 seconds on the clock wasn’t the first opportunity for the officials to toss some players from a game that ultimately featured six technicals and two flagrants.
Things seemed to reach a tipping point when Sheldon poked Clark in the eye while defending her in the third quarter. Clark shoved Sheldon away before Sun guard Marina Mabrey pushed Clark to the floor. Mabrey was likely retaliating for an exchange that saw Clark shove Sheldon in the second quarter.
‘Full team effort’
Hammon said her assistants are primarily from the NBA and they often express surprise about how much physicality is allowed in the women’s league.
“So in the NBA, it might be a foul. Around here, it’s not foul,” Hammon said. “And I think that’s where you get the ugly games, the low-scoring games.”
Last season, the Aces completed a four-game sweep of the Fever in the regular season. Guard Jackie Young took on the primary responsibility of guarding Clark.
“We know she’s a great player. She can really score the ball, and so it’s going to be a full team effort,” Young said Thursday.
In the teams’ second matchup last season, Clark slipped on a drive to the basket. In an effort to give the rookie more time to get on her feet, Young untied and retied her shoelaces.
“Just checking on her,” Young said at the time. “Because at the end of the day, we just want to play this game, have fun, be healthy.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.