Valkyries rout the Fever 80-61 as Caitlin Clark struggles in her return from injury

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Veronica Burton had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Kayla Thornton added 18 points and eight boards, and the Golden State Valkyries beat the Indiana Fever 80-61 on Wednesday to spoil Caitlin Clark's return.

The Valkyries held Clark to just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting as the Fever scored their second-fewest points of the season.

Clark returned after missing the past five games with a left groin injury. The All-Star captain participated in practice Monday — the first time she’d done that since getting hurt on June 26.

Golden State led 41-32 at halftime and Kate Martin scored five consecutive points in the third for a 15-point lead.

After Indiana went on a 10-1 run to get within 55-50, Burton ended Golden State’s drought with a 3-pointer. Burton also capped Golden State’s 9-0 run on another 3-pointer with 26 seconds left in the third for a 64-50 lead.

Burton’s fifth 3-pointer, setting a career high, came with 6:32 remaining for a 70-53 lead and Thornton's wide-open 3 about a minute later made it a 20-point lead.

Golden State (10-9) went 12 of 32 from 3-point range, compared to 6 of 27 for Indiana.

Kelsey Mitchell also struggled for Indiana (9-10), going 3 of 13 for 12 points. Makayla Timpson added 10 points off the bench.

The Valkyries beat the Fever 88-77 in the first regular-season meeting on June 19.

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

Golden State Valkyries' Kayla Thornton dribbles during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Indiana Fever, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)

Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark goes for a loose ball during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against Golden State Valkyries, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)

Golden State Valkyries' Kayla Thornton reacts during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Indiana Fever, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)

Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark (22) is introduced before a WNBA basketball game against Golden State Valkyries, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)

Golden State Valkyries' Veronica Burton (22) is defended by Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell (0) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Shreyas Iyer was provisionally named in India’s squad on Saturday for the home one-day international series against New Zealand starting Jan. 11.

India will host the Black Caps in a white-ball engagement — three ODIs and five T20s — in the build-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Iyer returns to the international fold after sustaining a spleen injury during an ODI against Australia in Sydney last October.

His selection is subject to fitness clearance from BCCI’s medical team and he will return as India’s vice-captain for the three-match series.

Skipper Shubman Gill also returns, after he missed the ODI series against South Africa in December. He had a neck spasm in the test series earlier, and subsequently played in the T20s against the Proteas.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Verma missed out. Gaikwad had scored a maiden ODI hundred against South Africa in Visakhapatnam.

Rishabh Pant is retained as second keeper-batter behind Lokesh Rahul, who had stood in as captain against the Proteas.

Star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had both participated in the domestic List A tournament — Vijay Hazare Trophy — and return to the international stage for the ODIs.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya is fit, but not sufficiently enough to bowl 10 overs in an ODI. Thus, he has been rested further ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup (in India and Sri Lanka) starting Feb. 7. Nitish Kumar Reddy is included in the squad.

Pacer Mohammed Siraj returns to lead the bowling lineup with Jasprit Bumrah rested again. Siraj had missed the South Africa series because of workload management.

The three ODIs will be played in Vadodara (Jan. 11), Rajkot (Jan. 14) and Indore (Jan. 18), with the five-match T20 series starting Jan. 21.

Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

FILE - Captain of Punjab Kings Shreyas Iyer addresses a news conference on the eve of the final match of Indian Premier League at Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, India, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)