Caitlin Clark is a consummate point guard … on and off the court for Iowa

MINNEAPOLIS — The question wasn’t intended for Caitlin Clark.

It was directed to Gabbie Marshall, who had just put together her best performance of the season in a Big Ten semifinal, hitting a go-ahead 3 late. She had been asked about that shot, what was going through her head during that moment, what led up to it in her memory. But she paused, not quite remembering, and to her left, Clark sensed it.

“There were five seconds left on the shot clock,” Clark said to Marshall, trying to jog her memory one more time. It didn’t work.

Clark leaned forward into the mic and added: “There were five seconds left on the shot clock and we ran a play on the sideline, and I had to get it up. Mine went in and out off the backboard. McKenna (Warnock) gets a huge O-board and Gabbie is standing all alone, gets a 3.”

At this point, Marshall finally recalled the play. “Ohhhh,” she said, leaning back and smiling.

“Shout out to McKenna. If we don’t get that O-board, they might go down and score. But leaving Gabbie all alone was not great for them,” Clark concluded, turning to Marshall with a huge smile. “Proud of her for making that shot.”

If there’s a play that defines Clark — that’s it. Not the logo 3s or over-the-head lobbed assists, though those are fun to watch and…