Burton, Williams lead the way as Valkyries hold off Clark, Fever in 90-88 win

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Veronica Burton had 25 points, six rebounds and a career-best five blocked shots, Gabby Williams added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists, and the Golden State Valkyries beat Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever 90-88 on Thursday night.

Clark’s 3-pointer with 3:55 to play pulled Indiana to 81-80 and Aliyah Boston put the Fever ahead with a jumper the next time down. But Clark turned the ball over with 1:32 left and her team trailing by three then again with 1:06 to go before missing a 3 with 40 seconds remaining.

Indiana had another chance with 24.8 seconds left and Sophie Cunningham scored on an uncontested layup. Williams missed the first of two free throws on the other end. Boston missed a turnaround jumper as the final buzzer sounded — sending the celebratory sellout home crowd into a frenzy.

Clark finished with 16 points, six assists and four rebounds but struggled to find a shooting groove — she was 3 for 12 — at Chase Center again as Indiana had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Fever missed their initial eight 3-point attempts and were 3 of 12 at halftime.

Janelle Salaun came off the bench to contribute 19 points and seven rebounds for Golden State (5-2), which had 11 blocks in all — four by Kiah Stokes.

This was another physical game after a testy matchup won 90-82 by the Fever last Friday at Indiana that became heated between Clark and Tiffany Hayes when Clark signaled her hand at the Golden State guard and they exchanged words. Clark said before the rematch that she had moved on already.

The fans at Chase Center took every opportunity to show their displeasure with Clark, booing the star guard every time she touched the ball.

Clark, who attended the San Francisco Giants’ game Wednesday at nearby Oracle Park, was averaging 23.8 points per game.

Her last game on the Valkyries’ home floor was forgettable. Clark shot just 3 for 14 at Chase Center in an 88-77 loss last June — going 0 for 7 on 3s and missing her initial six shots before a layup at the 4:12 mark of the second quarter.

Up next

Fever: Visit the Portland Fire on Saturday night.

Valkyries: Host the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball