The Golden State Valkyries travel to Indianapolis to face the Indiana Fever for the first time Friday, June 20. The game will be a fun reunion for former Iowa teammates Kate Martin and Caitlin Clark, and also has the potential to be a really dynamic physical test — both teams are known for their physicality and energy, but the Valkyries will need to also make sure the team's collective effort is high if they want to impact Indiana.
That was the moral of Coach Nakase's postgame conversation with reporters after the team's loss to the Wings Tuesday. Nakase was asked what adjustments the team should make before Friday, she made it clear it comes down to one.
"Effort," Nakase immediately said before she added effort is "the epitome of who we are." Golden State's first season is young, but the team is already known throughout the league for being "defensive-minded" and as a team that "loves to be physical, disrupt, pressure, take away the top scorers," she continued — things that are all "kind of our identity."
Stopping Indiana's scorers will be crucial
Nakase made several excellent points, but perhaps the most salient heading into Friday is that Golden State will have to find a way to lock up the Fever (and perhaps most importantly, Clark) if they hope to compete.
That's a lesson Golden State learned the hard way against the Wings, as both Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale hit 20 points and 19 points respectively, something Nakase noted "wasn't the game plan." The Valkyries entered the game with one plan in mind, she added, but the team's effort wasn't there.
"You can have an amazing game plan, but if we're not committed to the effort and the physicality ... that's no who we are, and we're not going to win games that way," she pointed out.
The Valkyries will also have to focus on rebounds
The team's match against the Wings was also notable because the Valkyries were significantly outrebounded 39-28 by Dallas. That's the fewest recorded rebounds from the team this season, and only included five rebounds total on the offensive end.
There's no doubt Indiana will be guarding the boards on both ends ferociously, especially knowing that rebounds are part of what makes the Valkyries collectively great. The team is certainly missing a few key players now that EuroBasket has kicked off, but new additions Laeticia Amihere, Kaitlyn Chen, and Bree Hall will hopefully bring a spark that Golden State will need to stay alive and focuse din the present, a core focus on the team's mentality.