Many have attempted to slow down Caitlin Clark. Few have been successful. The statistics support this.
Coaches from opposing teams will try once more in the NCAA Tournament to come up with strategies to defend the all-time leading scorer in Division I. However, they understand it's impossible to completely stop the Iowa guard. The only question is how many points she will add to her record total of 3,771 as she concludes her career before heading to the WNBA.
"You can do everything right and still not stop her. That's the issue," stated Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie, whose team has faced Clark and the Hawkeyes three times over two seasons in nonconference games and may face them again in the Sweet 16 next week.
Clark has scored at least 20 points in 118 of her 133 career games and at least 30 in 56. She is the only player in NCAA women’s basketball history to lead her conference in scoring and assists for four consecutive seasons. Her 173 3-pointers this season set an NCAA record.
The goal for opponents, then, is to lessen the impact of the national leader in scoring and assists. Easier said than done.
"Anything you do," Robyn Fralick of Big Ten rival Michigan State said, "she counters."
Either Holy Cross or UT-Martin will face Iowa later this week. Despite there being no clear defense strategy for Clark, coaches shared their thoughts on the matter in interviews with The Associated Press.
All coaches highlighted what Clark observers have known for a long time: she favors going to her left when she takes her signature step-back 3-pointer and to her right when she drives to the basket. When she is unable to take a shot or her path to the basket is blocked, she utilizes her excellent court vision to deliver precise passes to her teammates. Additionally, she enjoys making long passes in transition that can be converted into easy baskets. She leads the nation with 294 assists this year, as well as in triple-doubles (six).
Kansas State effectively defended Clark in its 65-58 win in Iowa City on Nov. 16, despite Clark scoring 24 points. She was 9 of 32 overall and 2 of 16 in 3-pointers, and had just three assists.
Jaelyn Glenn and Zyanna Walker took turns defending her. Mittie emphasized picking her up early to discourage those long outlet passes. Another defender would take over if Clark gained momentum or had an advantage against the assigned player. The Wildcats varied their coverages when she came off ball screens.
"We attempted to vary our tactics enough to throw her off a bit," Mittie explained. "When she drove to the right, we attempted to get under some screens to block that drive and limit assistance. When she drove to the left, we simply tried to be as physical as possible and obstruct the shot path when she created separation."
Indiana coach Teri Moren chose to adopt a physical game plan against Clark when they won 86-69 in Bloomington on Feb. 22. Chloe Moore-McNeil, Sara Scalia, and Lexus Bargesser were assigned to her, and the Hoosiers would switch from man-to-man to a triangle-and-two with two guards playing man and two forwards and the center playing zone.
Forward Mackenzie Holmes said they expected Clark to score a lot of points, and they were fine with it as long as she wasn't efficient.
The plan was effective as Clark only scored four points in the second half and struggled with her shooting, going 8 for 26 and 3 for 16 overall.
Clark admitted that the Hoosiers' defense troubled her.
Clark mentioned that the physicality and the Hoosiers' strategy of face-guarding and using different defenders affected her game.
In a previous game, Clark scored 31 points in the first three quarters but was unable to score in the fourth quarter as the Cornhuskers made a comeback.
The Huskers defended Clark one-on-one in the first half and employed a box-and-one defense, with Kendall Moriarty guarding Clark, in the second half.
Michigan State's tactic was to contain Clark and focus on the rest of the Hawkeyes, which nearly worked as they lost by just three points.
Clark scored 40 points on 34 attempts, while the rest of the Hawkeyes combined for 36 points on 33 attempts.
Coach Fralick aimed to prevent the rest of the Hawkeyes from getting easy baskets by focusing on their offense.
