MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Yesterday, Caitlin Clark’s offensive night was simply off. It showed her frustration with her struggle to uncover what she could possibly be doing wrong. But today, Clark was comfortable. She was in a groove. She was the scorer. And the facilitator. She was the motor chugging Iowa’s offense onward.
Clark missed her first 11 three-point attempts in yesterday’s 95-62 win over Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament’s quarterfinals in Minneapolis. She shot 5-of-19 from the field, 2-of-14 from deep. She added seven assists but surrendered six turnovers. For much of the game, she looked out of place and even uncomfortable.
And with a couple of scattered misses around the three-point arc in warmups today, it’s hard not to worry the same cold streak would continue.
But as soon as the tip-off began today’s 95-68 Iowa win over Michigan in the semifinals, Clark’s confidence strengthened. Her field of vision widened with each touch of the rock. This afternoon became a different story.
A hesitation move in a drive toward the rim made Clark’s defender bite in fear of her ability to pull up from anywhere, so 22 raced along to the bucket for her first two points.
Soon after, she sensed enough room around the right wing to pull. So she launched one that shot off of opposite sides of the rim and then up into the air and down through the net for three more.
That was it. That’s all she scored in that first quarter. Five points. Anyone who’s seen how Caitlin Clark functions knows that’s quiet, almost silent, by her standards.
But six assists in 10 minutes of play shouts much the opposite.
Clark enjoyed the high ball screen from forward Hannah Stuelke early on. And when the Wolverines knew to jump it to prevent her threes, she instead feasted on dump-downs to her second-year star for right-side layups and agile finishes.
Clark, herself jumping the passing lane on defense for a Dallas Clark-esque reception — who was in attendance in the Target Center today — could have forced a transition layup on the other end but opted for another dump down, this time to guard Sydney Affolter.
“Caitlin’s going to do whatever she has to do,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “If she’s open, she’s going to shoot it. If she draws two defenders, she’s going to dish it.
“We work on that all the time; drive, draw, dish; make those reads,” she added. “She’s exceptional, exceptional at it.”
Even so, two healthy misses showed her confidence was still right there with her, her eyes and arms gravitating toward the rim’s direction with every touch. The definition of “Shoot is your first option.”
Aside from a few ugly turnovers — Clark finished again with six in the evening — it wasn’t quite the offense’s fault that the Hawkeyes were down, 25-17, early on. They got the right looks. It’s just about not letting the ball stick after each pass. Otherwise the Wolverines can get set again into a defense.
So Clark took initiative and did just that. Refusing Stuelke’s screen with an in-and-out cross, she drove right, drew Gabbie Marshall’s defender over to help, and kicked it out to Marshall for three. Cash.
A Clark three from the right corner opened the second quarter, pushing her past the 1,000-point threshold on the season. And a behind-the-back bounce pass to Affolter for a transition layup made it suddenly very hard to hear a thing in the arena — especially not over her nine assists in the game with 7:45 still left on the clock in the period.
“That is mind-boggling when you think about it: Everybody’s defensive plan is to stop her, and nobody’s been able to figure out really how to do it,” Bluder said. “She’s faced everything, every kind of defense, every kind of ball screen defense. She really knows how to pick them apart, so it’s pretty amazing what she’s been able to accomplish.”
Her 10th came on a wrap-around dribble into a scoop to Affolter for three, and her 11th came on a one-handed bounce pass to Kate Martin cutting backdoor. Between two defenders, that was.
Clark has the ball on a string like a puppeteer.
And she ended the half picking and choosing when to shoot, scoring at will. 19 points and 11 assists at half, 28 and 15 at the final buzzer. Pulling from deep, holding three fingers up in celebration when it sank. She dictates the game.
“[My shot] pretty good; it felt like I got a couple of tough rolls on a couple of threes there in the second half,” Clark said. “But I’ll take my line any day of the week.”
With the Hawkeyes up by nine to begin the third quarter, momentum in their favor behind Clark’s maneuvering the offense into a smooth motion, there wasn’t any need for extravagant basketball in the second.
Good ball movement, passes, and cuts got the easy buckets. It’s a simple game. And it’s especially hard to chase this team around for 40 minutes when it plays that way.
“Man, I just thought we had some beautiful passing in the second half, just sharing the ball,” Bluder said. “It’s so much fun when we play like that and when everybody is getting involved like that.”
Even with two Clark three-point attempts feeling good off of the hand but rattling in and out of the rim again, her hands up to the temples of her head in shock that the ball won’t drop, her role today was bigger than points on the board.
The next possession down, a scoop pass to forward Addison O’Grady marked her 13th assist. And her 14th came on a smooth weave around defenders into a shovel to fellow forward AJ Ediger.
Everyone eats.
It wasn’t about Clark hitting threes and tearing the roof down on her own tonight. It was about the team. That’s why the Hawkeyes play tomorrow. That’s why they’ve got a shot at a third-straight Big Ten Tournament Championship.