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…
