Poking Iowa’s superstar guard Caitlin Clark may not be the best approach. That, however, is exactly the route West Virginia University’s head coach Mark Kellogg chose.
When to comes to NCAA women’s basketball, this has been the year of Caitlin Clark. The 22-year-old sharp shooter has firmly established herself as the best in the game over the season.
On February 15, 2024, she overtook Kelsey Plum as the all-time Division 1 scoring leader during a game against Michigan. She put up an impressive 49 points that game to surpass the previous record of 3,527 points. A month later, Clark broke another record when she overtook the single season record of 1,109 points, also held by Plum.
While some coaches may have sent a warning shot to their team, Kellogg was a little more ambitious. During a gathering with his WVU team on Selection Sunday, Kellogg saw a potential matchup with Iowa and had a message for his team.
“Let’s send Caitlin Clark packing,” said Kellogg.
Caitlin Clark dropped 32 and eliminated West Virginia after their HC Mark Kellogg said this earlier in the week 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/xKtRxK7Ghz
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 26, 2024
West Virginia battled valiantly but in the end they fell just short of pulling off a memorable upset. Iowa was able to see the game through, securing a 64-54 win to progress to the next round.
Caitlin Clark had another big night, finishing with 32 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 3-pointers.
Led by Clark, Iowa looks like the team to beat in the NCAA women’s tournament. Teams like South Carolina, Texas, USC and LSU are still in the picture, but if Clark can keep up this form, it is hard to see anyone standing in the way of the Hawkeyes.
