Despite last week’s viral interaction, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is downplaying Thursday night’s rematch with Tiffany Hayes and the Golden State Valkyries.
Last week’s game between the Fever and the Valkyries featured a heated exchange between Cark and Hayes, followed by some fiery postgame comments and controversial social media antics from Hayes.
The incidents and the apparent blooming rivalry between the two players fueled the WNBA headlines throughout the week, but heading into Thursday night’s rematch, Clark insisted it was not different than any other game.
Clark vs. Hayes
During Friday night’s matchup, a tense exchange between Clark and Hayes appeared to ignite a new rivalry involving the Fever star.
Near the end of the third quarter, Clark buried a deep logo three to tie the game at 48. Immediately after the shot went in, she walked toward Hayes and had some words for her.
While it’s not known exactly what Clark said, Hayes clearly took issue with it and fired back with some trash talk of her own. As the two headed back down the floor, Clark motioned between herself and Hayes, seemingly challenging her for the rest of the game.
She’s an absolute psycho pic.twitter.com/wHiIXiUddO https://t.co/cYlGPZ0nX2
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) May 23, 2026
Following the game, Hayes’ frustration was still evident before her postgame press conference even began, as a live microphone caught her complaining about the way the referees officiated Clark.
“They’re never going to start calling the fouls on her,” Hayes could be heard saying. “If they did, she would never get to play the game.”
Hayes also continued to express her frustration on social media after the final buzzer, interacting with multiple fans by “liking” several controversial posts and replying to others. At one point, Hayes appeared to endorse a fan who vaguely referenced violence toward Clark.
“Listen. I got some cousins we don’t speak about that will ride at dawn upon request. Just let me know,” the fan wrote.
“That’s real,” Hayes responded, with a laughing emoji.
No ‘Bad Blood’
During her press conference ahead of Thursday night’s game, Clark was asked about the rematch with Hayes and the Valkyries after last week’s tense matchup. Clark made it clear that she has no bad blood with Hayes or any of the other Golden State players, and said that she is approaching this game just like any other game.
“I mean, for myself, you’re just a competitor, and you leave it on the court,” Clark said before the game. “I don’t think there’s anything you carry over into the next game – at least, I’m gonna speak for me, I don’t know about the other side. I approach every game the same way. I don’t have any sort of bad blood with any player in this league. It’s just the competitive fire, and it’s the competitive fire my teammates play with too.”
“I don’t come in here with any sort of mindset that’s different than any way that I approach any other game,” she added.
That said, Clark did expect it to be a hard-fought and physical game, based on the way the first game played out.
“I do expect it to be competitive, I do expect it to be physical,” Clark said. However, she did note that the way the game is played could come down to the officials, as well.
“You never know the way they’re going to call it, too,” Clark said. “That can impact the game. If they call it [closely] from the start, it might not be as physical – you just never know.”
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.