Caitlin Clark has only been held to single-digit points in one game during her Iowa women’s basketball career.
It was one-third of the way through her freshman season, and Clark was held to eight points on 3-12 shooting and 1-for-5 from 3-point range against Northwestern. The Wildcats used a unique “blizzard” defense – a matchup zone in which the guards apply more ball pressure than normal— and were able to overpower the young star and guide Northwestern to a 77-67 win.
“We had Veronica Burton – the Scottie Pippen of defense,” said Northwestern coach Joe McKeown. “But (Clark’s) a very different player now.”
Today, just over four years later, Clark is older, stronger, and has coaches across the country searching for answers on how to effectively defend her. But there’s just one problem – they might never find one.
“What she does is constantly make the defense wrong,” said Debbie Antonelli, a women’s basketball analyst for several major networks. “It doesn’t matter what you do — you’re wrong.”
Despite an off night from beyond the arc, at least by her standards, during a 110-74 win over Northwestern on Wednesday night, Clark still erupted for 35 points. Ten of those points came from the free-throw line.
Clark’s claim to fame is her well-rounded scoring ability, which has catapulted her into second all-time on the women’s college basketball scoring list. This season, the Iowa star leads Division I with 707 points. No other player has surpassed 500 points.
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EVANSTON, Ill. – Caitlin Clark has only been held to single-digit points in one game during her Iowa women’s basketball career.
It was one-third of the way through her freshman season, and Clark was held to eight points on 3-12 shooting and 1-for-5 from 3-point range against Northwestern. The Wildcats used a unique “blizzard” defense – a matchup zone in which the guards apply more ball pressure than normal— and were able to overpower the young star and guide Northwestern to a 77-67 win.
“We had Veronica Burton – the Scottie Pippen of defense,” said Northwestern coach Joe McKeown. “But (Clark’s) a very different player now.”
Today, just over four years later, Clark is older, stronger, and has coaches across the country searching for answers on how to effectively defend her. But there’s just one problem – they might never find one.
“What she does is constantly make the defense wrong,” said Debbie Antonelli, a women’s basketball analyst for several major networks. “It doesn’t matter what you do — you’re wrong.”
Despite an off night from beyond the arc, at least by her standards, during a 110-74 win over Northwestern on Wednesday night, Clark still erupted for 35 points. Ten of those points came from the free-throw line.
Clark’s claim to fame is her well-rounded scoring ability, which has catapulted her into second all-time on the women’s college basketball scoring list. This season, the Iowa star leads Division I with 707 points. No other player has surpassed 500 points.
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