Game 19 wrap. Valkyries thump Fever, send campers home sad; Caitlin Clark outshot by Veronica Burton(!?)

First win outside CA in franchise history

• Official box score

Sab reminds us:

Early game time was for Camp Day.

"Any time there is a WNBA game during the week that is scheduled to start really early (11:00 a.m. ET) or seemingly in the middle of the day (3:30 p.m. ET), it's so that kids who love the WNBA can attend. These days are often referred to as WNBA "camp days" because so many kiddos who are attending summer camps travel to see their favorite players play in person."

GS Valkyries tell us:

• With its 10th victory in its 19th game on the year, Golden State becomes the third WNBA expansion team all-time to reach 10 wins in 20 or fewer games (1999 Minnesota Lynx - 16 games; 1998 Detroit Shock - 19 games).

• Veronica Burton made a career-high five threes on six attempts (83.3 percent), scoring 21 points while adding eight rebounds and six assists and a +/- of +22. It’s Burton’s third 20+ scoring performance of the season. The guard also had one steal which was the 100th of her career.

Apricot In-Game Notes

• Q1

  Okay, Caitlin Clark Is really playing. The WNBA can continue now.

  10.00. Kate Martin, continuing where she left off from last time, dribbles right at Clark. But an offensive foul. A little bit of a surprise with Martin joining the starting lineup with Hayes, Burton, Fagbenle, and Thornton.

  7.50. Now Kayla Thornton driving right at Caitlin Clark.

  7:30. Kind of an odd pick-and-roll where it didn't seem clear which angle Fagbenle should take. Temi ended up using her butt to screen, and that was enough to get Hayes free.

  7:00. Maybe that wasn't an accident—Temi uses her butt to screen for Veronica Burton on the very next play. This time, IND has to switch a small onto Temi, she goes straight to the paint for the mismatch, but IND scram switches the big back to Temi in the paint.

  6:30. I've never seen a team so intentionally do these backwards butt screens. I guess it puts Temi in position to immediately roll to the basket. This time it gets her inside position for the layup.

  6:20. Caitlin Clark doing Caitlin Clark things. Last game, the Valkyries threw traps and show and recovers. So this game, Indiana has had Clark attacking with no screens at all, period. Cut out the middleman, as they say.

  5.50. Burton fires up a quick three, but it works out. Then, on the next play, attacks Clark and muffs the open layup.

  5:10. Carla Leite has made her return. Nakase still going with the three-guard lineup.

  4:40. Now that we see an actual pick-and-roll from Indiana, we see that the Valkyries are playing show-and-recover defense.

  4:20. Carla Leite, unfortunately, picking up where she left off by missing a jumper.

  4:00. Saluan is back in now. Nice to see her with her confident, itchy trigger. Even though I complained about her shot selection before, she was way too passive last time.

  3.20. IND Boston turns a dribble handoff into a kind of pick-and-roll and sounds like the Valks yelling at each other to go under the screen. Billings is a little late getting there, so Boston has a lane to the basket, but great rotation from Salaun from the weak side.

  3:06. Kayla gets picked up by a small in early offense, Boston sits in the paint to help, leaving Billings open in the far corner. Great find, great shot.

  2:50. Valkyries trying to play show-and-recover against the wing pick-and-roll, Boston with an outstanding slip of the screen, forcing Carla Leite to rotate off the corner. I'm not sure that is the optimal rotation, but I love the awareness. In the NBA, the orthodox rotation is Kayla Thornton from the opposite side, low position, forcing Boston to make a long skip pass to the opposite corner. (“Trapping the box”) In this case, she dumps it to the near corner, and the Valkyries dodge a bullet. Just like in the ancient myths.

  2:35. Leite with a scary pass into traffic for Billings. I'd like to see Leite emphasize her drive and first step to get a shot for herself, and then pass second.

  1.20. Holy moly. Kaitlyn Chen with the fake dribble handoff, then drives on Clark and finishes with a crazy reverse scoop layup.

  0:58. Nakase signaling the next play by tapping her right eye with three fingers. I think she's calling for the split-finger fastball. It's a stagger-ram screen into a single-ram screen for a wing-pick-and-roll, which gets immediately called for an offensive foul.

  0:10. Valkyries run a trap at Clark. Indiana tries to punish by finding the open player, good rotations to make that hard. Even if they didn't step out of bounds, I think Chen had run herself all the way back into the paint to cover the player cutting from the weak-side wing.

• Q2

  9.40. I've noticed Caitlin Clark setting screens very occasionally, and I've never seen Indiana pass to the person she's screening. When Steph Curry sets a screen, that usually frees them up because no one ever got fired for following Steph Curry. Indiana still getting the hang of taking advantage.

  9.03. GSV still trapping Clark, Indiana got a little lucky to be bailed out with a foul call there.

  8:50. This play is, I think, called Horns 5, where there's a pick set on the right elbow, but the ball's supposed to swing back to the other elbow, Saluan, who then does something with it or dribble handoffs to the opposite corner. But Clark's aggressive defense on Chen makes that pass impossible. Valkyries fuss and muss and eventually say, “Laeticia, save us”, and she does. The perfect use of Amihere's skills.

  8:22. Amihere: good chaos winning. Good rotation in the lane to completely stymie that layup attempt, then takes it down court and a good pass to Burton, who misses the layup through contact.

  Tyrese Halliburton is attending the game!

  7:58. Okay, that was chaotic bad. It's a stagger pin-down for Amihere out of the corner, but she gets jammed hard by her defender Mcdonald, stopping her from getting the ball, and Laeticia ends up kind of whamming her in frustration. Foul, to say the least.

  7.45. GSV has Chen doubling Boston from one pass away, which was a defense wrecked by Atlanta in the last game. Indiana clearly watched some tape and methodically the open player cuts and gets a layup. The only way that defense can possibly work is if Salaun rotates much faster from the weak-side low block.

  7:05 period. That was a beautiful play. It all starts when Salaun sets a strong screen, which forces the tiny McDonald to switch to Salaun, creating a horrible mismatch. She scram switches off of Salaun, but now she's bumped over to guarding Fagbenle, which is even worse. Burton passes quickly to Hayes before McDonald can swap with Lexie Hull. Boston comes over to trap, and then it's swing, swing, swing until Kaitlyn Chen gets an open three from the weak-side corner. Beautiful.

  6:30. Clinical. Kaitlyn Chen with the dribble handoff to Salaun, forces Clark to switch to Salaun, and now it is the French equivalent of barbecue chicken. Poulet grillé?

  6.04. Nakase signaling the next play. I think that's the wing pick-and-roll. Or she could be telling us in Vulcan to live long and prosper. It's the wing pick-and-roll, Indiana, hard show. GSV tries to rotate to the open player, but the skip pass is into the stands.

  5:30. Chen with another scary touchdown pass, but I think she's completed every one this season. Salaun ends up shooting a three that's so flat you could level a shelf with it.

  I forgot that this is the Temi Fagbenle revenge game.

  4:40. Period. If you're keeping track, that's three Mitchell pick-and-rolls and three different Valkyries defenses. Show and recover, drop, trap. Mitchell has handled all of them, but this is the first actual score.

  3:30. Veronica Burton signaling the next play. It's either a pick-and-roll from a small, or she's indicating there's a low layer of Marine fog coming in, so bundle up. It's Chen setting the screen, but Burton can't finish at the rim.

  Both teams are playing really hard on defense and really sloppy on offense.

  2:45. Period. There's the butt wing pick-and-roll again. Have they run this in previous games, and I just never noticed? The angle of the screen is called Flat to help the ball drive straight north-south. Easy roll for Billings, help rotates off the weak-side wing, kick out to KT for the three.

  2:20. Indiana coach Stephanie White signaling with her hand that she believes Valkyries will rerun the same play, and she's correct. More butt-wump pick and roll technology. This time, Hayes uses the screen and gets all the way to the rim for a nice layup.

  1.51. Clark back to see if she can save the floundering IND offense. Indiana whiffs on a stagger screen for Clark, it turns into a Boston post-up. Boston tries bullying to the basket even though the Valkyries have two players helping so far off the weak side that it's practically a triple team.

  1:06. In fairness to Indiana, they also flood the paint on Billings and strip it. But you would think Indiana should have more firepower to punish the Valkyries from three-point land.

  0.56. Interesting little moment. Boston with a surprise dribble handoff for Clark. Low defender is Veronica Burton, who yells, "Switch!" Valkyries are in mid-switch when the foul is called. Makes sense since Burton can see the whole play, but I have the feeling if Burton were in the play she’d also be calling the switch.

  0.10. You can hear one of the Indiana coaches screaming the game clock countdown. On the Warriors, this task belongs to Terry Stotts. Maybe they pick the assistant with the loudest voice?

• Q3

  9.40. Sidelines out of bounds play (SLOB), it's the usual one with someone going over a stagger screen across the free throw line, but this time Kate Martin seals Caitlin Clark in the paint, Veronica Burton believes, pass over the top, layup.

  9.25. Maybe the Valkyries think Caitlin Clark is limited? Because they are guarding her one-on-one with Kayla Thornton, and it is working.

  9.09. Hey, it's the flat screen pick-and-roll, but this time Temi Fagbenle screens in the normal forward-facing way and does not screen backwards with her butt. How quaint and old-fashioned. Help at the nail off of Kate Martin, pass, three.

• It's a long way to go, but it feels like Indiana has kind of lost its composure and the game is getting out of hand. Since these notes have been extra gabby already, I'm going to stop for now unless the game gets close again. Happy camp day!

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