DALLAS – The specter of South Carolina’s defense has loomed for Iowa since the two schools were drawn in the same regional a year ago. With it came the implicit acknowledgement that there was a team that finally had the tools to contain Caitlin Clark.
That showdown a year ago didn’t happened. But Clark has faced nearly every defense possible over the past three years as she’s ascended from a freshman phenom to the national player of the year. Teams pressure her full court, rotate defenders to tire her out, throw traps at her, often running the full gamut of options to make life difficult for Clark, and for the Hawkeyes by extension.
No defense could figure her out.
But Friday brought the long-anticipated Final Four matchup against South Carolina. Clark had never dealt with a defense like the Gamecocks’ — a unit replete with capable defenders that had not allowed any opponent to reach its scoring average this season. The gap between South Carolina’s defensive rating and second place was larger than the gap between second and 34th.
There were many ways to frame this epic national semifinal bout: a battle of the current player of the year against last year’s award winners, the nation’s best offense versus its best defense, an undefeated juggernaut going for a consecutive crown against a plucky upstart that hadn’t been to the Final Four in 30 years.
But the Final Four really came down to one question: Could a historically great defense shut down the most prolific offensive force in college basketball? That prospect was theoretical, even if many believed it.
Now, it’s been debunked.
Caitlin Clark shattered that illusion in a 77-73 victory, propelling No. 2 seed Iowa to its first national championship game.
Her output of 41 points, eight assists and six rebounds didn’t quite match the triple-double she recorded against Louisville in the Elite Eight. Given the stage, however, and the level of the competition, it was the best example yet of Clark rising to the occasion and elevating her game to match the stakes. She is the first player in women’s NCAA Tournament history to record back-to-back games with at least 40 points. She also posted the second-highest scoring game in Final Four history, behind Sheryl Swoopes’ 47 in 1993.
“She’s just different,” assistant coach Jan Jensen said about Clark. “The Jordans are different. The Taurasis are different. The way she approaches it, she has a confidence about it.”
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Unlike some teams who try to take away Clark’s scoring, the Gamecocks came in with a plan to limit her playmaking. They stayed home on Iowa’s shooters, trusting their guards and wings to contain Clark one-on-one as best as possible, and forcing the Hawkeyes to beat them with 2-pointers. With Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso inside to defend Monika Czinano, South Carolina had to feel good about its process.
The problem was Clark defies even the most expert planning. If Iowa’s shooters were bringing three defenders with them to the perimeter, that meant the middle of the floor was open, giving Clark several options to attack the paint.
The first tactic was driving to the basket, knowing that the help was unlikely to come. No matter who the Gamecocks put on her, Clark was able to blow by to get to the hoop. National defensive player of the year finalist Brea Beal? She had no hope of staying in front of Clark. Bree Hall couldn’t navigate through screens well enough. Raven Johnson stayed with Clark for 94 feet and contested every shot, and Clark still scored on her.
When South Carolina switched its bigs onto Clark, she still found a way to get her shot. After fruitlessly trying a hook shot on Boston, she learned the next time and drove from the 3-point line past the nation’s best defensive player.
In the third quarter, Clark found her path to the basket obstructed by the 6-foot-7 Cardoso; she faked one way and stepped through to finish anyway.
Clark still couldn’t do all of the scoring on her own. South Carolina stayed disciplined with McKenna Warnock, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall, limiting the trio to two 3-point makes all game, so Clark went back to her bread-and-butter: the two-player game with Monika Czinano.
The Hawkeyes ruthlessly ran pick-and-roll, pulling the Gamecocks’ bigs away from the basket. That meant Czinano was either rolling into open space if the frontcourt defender came up to the level of the screen, or attacking on the move, where her size disadvantage was mollified by her superb footwork. Clark’s pinpoint passing meant that Czinano was in the best possible position to finish, and Iowa needed every one of her 18 points with no other Hawkeyes player scoring in double figures.
“I’ve seen a lot of really good defenses. The thing was we saw some weaknesses early in the game, and that’s what we kept going to,” Clark said. “They were guarding Mon(ika) pretty high up, and that allowed me to get to the rim. I thought we were dragging their rim protectors away from the rim, where they’re used to being. But honestly, a lot of screen action. A lot of down screens, a lot of ball screens. That was something we saw in film that we thought could work, and we executed it well.”
Iowa led for the majority of the game, taking a four-point lead into the final period, but a quick 5-0 spurt put the Hawkeyes in a one-point hole. It was a moment that threatened to unravel everything Iowa had worked for, the moment when the Gamecocks could have reasserted themselves as the favorites.
Instead, Clark found a new level, turning South Carolina’s eventual coronation into her crowning achievement. In the final 9 minutes and 5 seconds, she would score or assist on every point, starting with a pull-up 3-pointer off a screen from Czinano. Next up, another screen-and-roll with her favorite dance partner, resulting in a lay-up for Czinano. On the ensuing possession, the Gamecocks successfully walled off the fifth-year center, so a step-back 3-pointer from the logo was in order.
In total, 16 fourth-quarter points helped Iowa execute one of the biggest upsets in recent memory, the latest dramatic finish in a tournament that has been full of surprises.
“That can be frustrating for other teams. You’re trying to do your best, and you’re putting your best defenders on her and she finds a way to score,” Iowa guard Kate Martin said. “It’s just unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the history of women’s basketball, or men’s at this point. She’s a stud.”
No matter what the Gamecocks threw at her, Clark had an answer. She got to her spots regardless of the size of the defender. She set up Czinano even as she encountered multiple posts who towered over her. She drained deep 3-pointers that lit up the Hawkeye fan base. When her team needed points down the stretch, Clark was the one to take every shot.
It took three years for Clark and her teammates to develop the confidence that their way of playing could beat anyone they matched up against. Three years of Clark being the best player on the court in losses, lamenting that her team usually loses when she sets scoring records. Three years of seeing hands in her face, box-and-ones, doubles, traps, and so many other junk defenses for her to know exactly how to work her way through every possible obstacle.
The story of this tournament was expected to be the greatness of the Gamecocks, a team poised to be the eighth undefeated squad in college basketball history. Instead, Iowa’s star took center stage.
No defense has been able to solve the Caitlin Clark puzzle.
(Photo of Caitlin Clark: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
