‘Fearless' Veronica Burton leads Valkyries past Caitlin Clark's Fever to top of WNBA
The Golden State Valkyries and Indiana Fever played a dramatic game that had a playoff vibe and could - even though it's very early - have playoff implications.
In the high-stakes game, both teams were battling for a share of the best record in the league, matching the Minnesota Lynx. And when Aliyah Boston's last-gasp shot for the Fever missed, it was the Valkyries who escaped with a 90-88 win and secured a 5-2 record.
"That was pretty much our first close game, coming down to the wire," said Veronica Burton, who had a fabulous game, leading all scorers with 25 points, adding five blocked shots and sharing the defensive duties on Caitlin Clark with Gabby Williams.
"There's so much buy-in and so much trust," Burton said. "And a big shout out to our coaching staff, because they really gave us the answers to the test and it was on us to execute."
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The Valkyries put on a show at Chase Center on Monday, with Gabby Williams leading the way in a rout of the Connecticut Sun in a game that saw the WNBA debut of Justė Jocytė with Golden State.
The Valkyries had lost in Indianapolis last week, on the second night of a back-to-back. That game had gotten chippy in the late minutes with Clark and Tiffany Hayes exchanging words. Natalie Nakase and her staff built Thursday's game plan off that loss, determined to control the game's pace and defend without fouling.
"V's leadership really took a big leap today," Nakase said of Burton. "She really controlled the tempo, just starting off attacking. She was composed and fearless every moment."
Valkyries 90, Fever 88
FG
FT
Reb
INDIANA
Min
M-A
M-A
O-T
A
PF
PTS
Billings
19:01
1-2
2-2
2-5
2
2
4
Hull
23:15
2-7
0-0
1-6
0
3
5
Boston
22:28
4-11
4-4
2-6
4
4
13
Clark
28:39
3-12
8-8
0-4
6
4
16
Mitchell
30:01
5-13
2-3
0-1
3
5
14
Cunningham
24:46
4-11
2-2
0-2
2
2
11
Johnson
21:20
7-10
0-0
0-4
2
1
16
Hines-Allen
15:30
1-4
0-0
0-1
1
1
2
Timpson
15:00
3-3
1-2
2-5
2
3
7
Totals
200:00
30-73
19-21
7-34
22
25
88
Percentages: FG .411, FT .905.
3-Point Goals: 9-28, .321 (Johnson 2-3, Mitchell 2-5, Clark 2-6, Boston 1-3, Hull 1-3, Cunningham 1-7, Billings 0-1).
Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: None.
Blocked Shots: 5 (Billings, Clark, Hines-Allen, Johnson, Timpson).
Turnovers: 11 (Clark 5, Boston 2, Cunningham, Hull, Johnson, Mitchell).
Steals: 7 (Clark 3, Cunningham 2, Hull, Timpson).
Technical Fouls: None.
FG
FT
Reb
GOLDEN STATE
Min
M-A
M-A
O-T
A
PF
PTS
Thornton
17:33
0-2
0-0
0-3
0
2
0
Williams
28:22
6-14
7-10
1-6
6
1
19
Stokes
25:35
2-4
0-0
1-4
2
1
4
Burton
28:43
7-13
10-12
2-6
3
5
25
Charles
15:06
3-5
0-0
1-4
1
1
7
Salaun
24:10
7-12
2-4
1-7
3
2
19
Jocyte
15:55
1-4
0-0
0-0
2
1
3
Amihere
14:26
1-5
1-2
2-5
1
3
3
Zandalasini
13:41
3-8
0-0
0-0
3
1
8
Chen
11:17
1-1
0-0
0-1
3
1
2
Hayes
5:12
0-0
0-0
0-1
0
3
0
Totals
200:00
31-68
20-28
8-37
24
21
90
Percentages: FG .456, FT .714.
3-Point Goals: 8-21, .381 (Salaun 3-5, Zandalasini 2-3, Charles 1-2, Jocyte 1-2, Burton 1-3, Thornton 0-2, Williams 0-4).
Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: None.
Blocked Shots: 11 (Burton 5, Stokes 4, Amihere, Jocyte).
Turnovers: 11 (Jocyte 2, Stokes 2, Amihere, Burton, Charles, Hayes, Thornton, Williams, Zandalasini).
Steals: 5 (Williams 3, Burton, Salaun).
Technical Fouls: None.
Indiana
14
30
23
21
-
88
Golden State
21
23
21
25
-
90
A_18,064 (18,064). T_2:14.
Clark clearly likes visiting the Bay Area. A year ago, she raved about the restaurants. This week, she went to a Giants game and proclaimed Oracle Park, which had been on her bucket list, her second favorite baseball stadium after Wrigley Field. She's such a fan of Stephen Curry she has hired his personal trainer Brandon Payne. And she admires Nakase, one of her assistant coaches for Team USA, for the competitive fire she elicits from the Valkyries.
But Clark may not like Chase Center too much. She is now 0-2 in the two games she's played there. Fever team officials said Clark wouldn't be available for comment after Thursday's game. But before the game, she said: "I expect the atmosphere to be incredible. I was available for one game we played here last year, and this crowd is great. They're loud from the tip."
The first time she came to Chase, last June, many of the fans in the building were loud for her. Back in those early days of the Valkyries franchise, there were a lot of red Fever and white Iowa jerseys in the stands and the pregame was a bit of a Clark lovefest.
Thursday the atmosphere was decidedly less friendly. Though there were still a smattering of Fever fans and some signs held aloft for Clark, the Ballhalla homecourt advantage was on full display. Fans, who were scolded last season by Temi Fagbenle for being too nice, have embraced the job of making it very hard on visitors. Even if they are league-changing icons. Clark was booed every time she touched the ball.
"We're getting used to our atmosphere," Nakase said. "Tonight (the fans) were after it, they were booing at the right times. So thank you Ballhalla. And our team really stuck together. Everyone gave max effort."
That includes newcomer Juste Jocyte. The rookie, recently arrived from Europe, made her Valkyries debut on Monday night but wasn't sure how much she would get to play, if at all, on Thursday. She ended up playing almost 16 second-half minutes, including being part of the closing unit.
"Her composure is something that I've noticed from the moment she came in," Burton said. "And also to know what we're doing; it's hard when you come in late. But there's no drop off. That's a testament to her IQ as well."
The Valkyries are now 4-1 against the Fever, in the short history of their franchise. And it feels like there's a little edge to this matchup, perhaps a budding rivalry.
"Everyone's a rival in my eyes," Nakase said. "Now we have Vegas coming up (on Sunday). Keep it coming. I want it to be loud. I want the boos and the cheers and the ups and the downs.
"You guys felt it - it was a little different tonight right? That just helps us build and prepare for this long season."
Everyone in the building felt it: a game in May that gave the Valkyries a little taste of October.
May 28, 2026
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Ann Killion
Sports Columnist
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