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NC State Wolfpack star Saniya Rivers, the No. 8 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, said she looks forward to matching up with reigning Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.
The Connecticut Sun had back-to-back picks in the first round of Monday's draft. They selected Aneesah Morrow at No. 7 and Rivers at eighth. The team held an introductory press conference on Tuesday.
Rivers was asked which team she looked forward to facing in her rookie season. Reporter Brendan Glasheen shared a clip of Rivers' comments on X.
"Let's go with Indiana, why not?" Rivers said. "Caitlin Clark, we played them... sophomore year and she almost dropped 50 points. That was the point, we won. ... I would love the opportunity to match up with her again because I feel like my defense has grown since then. And my confidence has grown.
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"I wanna be the player that maybe tries my best to shut down the best players every night... Caitlin's gonna be Caitlin, she's gonna hit some shots. But, I'm not gonna get in my head, I'm just gonna keep stepping up. I would love to slow her down a little bit."
Saniya Rivers was referring to NC State's 94-81 win against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Dec. 1, 2022 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Clark scored 45 points on 16-for-28 shooting (5-for-13 from the 3-point line). Meanwhile, then-sophomore Rivers finished with 22 points, five assists and four steals off the bench.
ESPN draft analyst Charlie Creme said the 6-foot-1 Rivers' length and athleticism have been "pro-ready for two years." Creme added that while Rivers' shooting needs improvement, she impacts the other end.
The Sun and the Fever will battle four times in the upcoming WNBA season. Indiana will host Connecticut on May 30 and June 17 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The teams will battle at TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics, on July 15, and their final game will be on Aug. 17 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
Sky GM doubles down on Saniya Rivers' defensive potential ahead of the draft
Saniya Rivers' potential was praised by Chicago Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca days before the 2025 WNBA draft.
On Thursday, Pagliocca said that teams should pay attention to Rivers as the guard could be impactful:
"She can probably handle one, two, three, a little bit of four at times, she's got a lot of length," Pagliocca said. "Maybe the best overall athlete in the draft and she's got a lot of length too. She's proving she can guard multiple positions, which always matters in our league, because you can cause some problems with point guard-wings."
Saniya Rivers was projected to fall between the ninth and 12th picks in the draft. She eventually went to the Connecticut Sun. The Sky drafted Slovenian forward Ajsa Sivka at 10th and TCU's Hailey Van Lith at No. 11.
