IOWA CITY, Iowa — There’s no telling when Iowa State determines that any shot in Kaitlyn Clark’s hands is not just a legitimate shot, but a good shot.Because there is a green light, and then there is green lamp. In fact, Clark has been doing the latter for most of her career.
But there is one conclusive evidence that it was February 6, 2022.
It was Clark’s second season, and while she had accomplished great things, she wasn’t yet considered the one-woman wrecking crew she was now. To reach this level of legend, players not only need to throw rocks, but also slay Goliaths. At that point, even though she was a great scorer, her team had yet to beat its best opponents. The Hawkeyes are 1-9 against top-25 teams in her career and are facing No. 6 Michigan on the road.
At the beginning of the game, she stepped back from the free throw line and then completed a pull-up three-pointer. She hit some drives and more mid-range shots, but the real treat came in the fourth quarter when she started hitting her signature 3-pointers as the Hawkeyes (read: Clark) tried to tie the game. In a span of 92 seconds, she hit three transition 3-pointers, the last of which came under siege by Michigan defenders as Clark put on his skates. She ended up with 46 points. Although Iowa State still lost, something changed that night.
Oh my goodness. @Caitlin Clark 22 #eagleeye pic.twitter.com/GWkkay66hc
— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 7, 2022
Iowa State coach Lisa Bluder calmly walked along the sideline, not even talking, when the broadcaster yelled through the microphone after another flag triple, “What did she do? What did she just do?” Uncross your arms in surprise or joy. Without context, she looked like a coach saying “same old, same old” as he turned and walked to the bench.
“In the beginning, when you coach her, when she goes through some drills and makes some shots, it’s fun in practice. But then in the game as a coach, you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s not recommended,'” Bluder said. “But there comes a point where you realize, ‘She’s not like other people, she can actually make these things at a pretty amazing rate.'”
“My thinking changed,” she added. “It was like, ‘Okay, let’s do this.'”
“This” as in: For Clark, anything is possible.
Since February 6, 2022, this has worked very well for Clark and Iowa State. The senior is now 39 points shy of the NCAA women’s basketball scoring record, and the Hawkeyes, who defeated the South Carolina women’s basketball Goliath in last season’s Final Four, are now a nationally recognized powerhouse, firmly entrenched in the national rankings. second. Behind the Gamecocks this season.
Clark is a well-known figure outside of women’s basketball circles and is tracked by security personnel before and after games and at public events. She has zero partnerships with Nike, State Farm and Gatorade. She would be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft if she declared, and would be the biggest headache for opposing coaches in women’s college basketball if she chose to return for a fifth year.
Ask any coach who has faced her (or those who feared they would fail) and they’ll all explain the same thing: You can’t stop her. You might slow her down, you might make her less efficient, but Clark can’t be stopped. When Clark scored 46 points against Michigan in 2022, Wolverines coach Kim Barnes Arico said after the game, “I don’t even know what the hell happened.”
That may be the most impressive part of her run to break the scoring record — Clark’s unwavering consistency. She never missed a game. In 124 games at Iowa State, she failed to reach double digits in scoring just once. As her range has expanded over the past four seasons, her field goal percentage has steadily increased. “Her consistency is extraordinary,” Bruder said after Clark scored 27 points against Penn State on Thursday night. “For her to be so consistent, day after day, night after night, selling out venues and chasing records, is unbelievable. Everybody has a bad night. We all have bad nights. night. Caitlin’s night wasn’t bad.”
As teams throw new and different defenses at her, she continues to surpass everything her opponents can create. Turn her over and she finds the angle. Crowd her and she’ll rise above to hit the ball. Throw her the kitchen sink, only to discover she can press sign 3 and wash dishes at the same time.
Caitlin Clark’s shot chart/heat map over the past four seasons. Just wild. pic.twitter.com/60BBbWVOXy
— Chantel Jennings (@ChantelJennings) February 8, 2024
Of the top ten scorers in Division I history, only two averaged more than 25 points per game throughout their college careers (current record holder Kelsey Plumb: 25.4; Elena Delle Donne : 26.7).
Clark averaged 28.1 points per game.
This season, fans from across the Big Ten Conference have spent hundreds of dollars to show off at conference arenas in the hope that their “home” team might be pummeled by the 6-foot guard for 46 points, so that they, too It’s possible to experience the Caitlin Clark experience.
Under the microscope, Clark didn’t waver either. Her worst game of the season — 24 points, six rebounds and three assists against Kansas State — would still be a career night for 99 percent of college basketball players .
“I think it shows you have to come in every day and be ready to play basketball, because no matter who it is, you can beat anybody, and you can lose games,” Clark said after the game. [to] anyone. That’s the great thing about women’s basketball. That’s why it’s so interesting. I’m just disappointed that we didn’t put on a great show for the fans who came out to support us. “
deeper
When will Kaitlyn Clark break the all-time scoring record in women’s college basketball?
Because when you watch Clark play, you realize it’s not just basketball, it’s a real performance she puts on for fans who come out with not only hope but anticipation of wonder and surprise. What they want is not the three-pointer, but the iconic three-pointer. They don’t want to ignore the pass, they want to see something they’ve never seen before. They want the kind of performance Clark’s coaches and teammates have gotten from training over the past four seasons. Not only did they want Bude to give Clark the green light, they wanted her to stay on the highway for 40 minutes.
Despite all the attention, Clark not only gave a stellar performance, but consistently performed well, constantly leaving viewers asking, “What did she do? What did she just do?”
Now, she may be a few quarters away from cementing her spot atop the NCAA women’s scoring record, a feat that — with the green light — appears to be just a quarter or two away for Clark. Can become the scoring champion. Grandmaster.
(Photo by Caitlin Clark: G Fiume/Getty Images)
