Caitlin Clark was "contained" by LSU to just 30 points in last year's national championship victory for the Tigers. There was no containing her in this year's Elite Eight showdown between No. 1 Iowa and No. 3 LSU.
LSU had no answers for Clark in Monday's 94-87 Iowa win. The Tigers largely rotated defenders on Clark throughout the contest, nearly all to no avail as Clark wowed audiences with 3-pointers from the parking lot, awe-inspiring jukes to get to the paint and elite awareness on where to pass the ball to find open teammates.
LSU's defense against Clark can largely be summed up as such:
Every defender's reaction to Caitlin Clark pic.twitter.com/8RzZ5ghrSj
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 2, 2024
How did Clark power Iowa to a second straight Final Four appearance? Here's what you need to know.
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Caitlin Clark stats
Clark finished Monday's game with 41 points. She went 13-of-29 from the field and 9-of-20 from 3-point range. She also made 6-of-7 attempts from the free-throw line.
As if all that wasn't enough, Clark added 12 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block. It was Clark's second time with at least 40 points and 10 assists in an NCAA Tournament game. No other men's or women's Division I player has even one such tournament game, per OptaStats.
There wasn't anything Clark couldn't do during the win. She was making 3s from long-range that were nearly impossible against which to defend.
"Clark... OH MY! FROM SCHENECTADY!!!!" - @RyanRuocco pic.twitter.com/G0uvEHcHoi
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 2, 2024
If Clark wasn't going to pull up from 3, she showed off some impressive ball-handling moves to drive to the paint and get the easy points underneath.
This move from Caitlin Clark 🤢🤢 pic.twitter.com/m0euCwOiTq
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 2, 2024
And when she wasn't scoring, she was still impacting the game with some pinpoint passes throughout the game.
Caitlin Clark, what a pass to Addison O'Grady!pic.twitter.com/HPloFbJClM
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) April 2, 2024
Clark was responsible for either scoring, assisting or creating 73 of Iowa's 94 total points, according to Synergy Basketball.
BENDER: Clark's signature logo 3-point show is returning to the Final Four
Caitlin Clark most 3s in a game
Clark tied her career-best with nine made 3s in the win. She had previously scored at least nine 3s against Michigan, Cleveland State and Maryland.
Her 20 3-point attempts also matched her career-high, which was set against Michigan State on Jan. 2, 2024. Unsurprisingly, in a season in which she has attempted a nation-leading 508 3-pointers and made a nation-leading 193, seven of her top 11 3-point performances have come in the 2023-24 season.
| Date | Opponent | Score | Pts | 3PM-3PA (3P%) |
| April 1, 2024 | LSU | W, 94-87 | 41 | 9-20 (45%) |
| Feb. 15, 2024 | Michigan | W, 106-89 | 49 | 9-18 (50%) |
| Dec. 16, 2023 | Cleveland State | W, 104-75 | 38 | 9-16 (56.3%) |
| Feb. 23, 2021 | Maryland | L, 111-93 | 34 | 9-16 (56.3%) |
| Feb. 28, 2024 | Minnesota | W, 108-60 | 33 | 8-14 (57.1%) |
| Jan. 27, 2024 | Nebraska | W, 92-73 | 38 | 8-15 (53.3%) |
| Jan. 2, 2024 | Michigan State | W, 76-73 | 40 | 8-20 (40%) |
| Dec. 30, 2023 | Minnesota | W, 94-71 | 35 | 8-16 (50%) |
| April 2, 2023 | LSU | L, 102-85 | 30 | 8-19 (42.1%) |
| March 26, 2023 | Louisville | W, 97-83 | 41 | 8-14 (57.1%) |
| Feb. 27, 2022 | Michigan | W, 104-80 | 38 | 8-11 (72.7%) |
Caitlin Clark most points in a game
Clark has had some legendary performances, none better than her 49-point performance against Michigan on Feb. 15, when she set the official NCAA Division I Women's Basketball scoring record.
Still, the 41 points for Clark against LSU tied her ninth-most points in a game.
| Date | Opponent | Score | FG-FGA (FG%) | 3P-3PA (3P%) | FT-FTA | Pts |
| Feb. 15, 2024 | Michigan | W, 106-89 | 16-31 (51.6%) | 9-18 (50%) | 8-8 | 49 |
| Feb. 6, 2022 | Michigan | L, 98-90 | 14-29 (48.3%) | 6-13 (46.2%) | 12-14 | 46 |
| Dec. 1, 2022 | NC State | L, 94-81 | 16-28 (57.1%) | 5-13 (38.5%) | 8-8 | 45 |
| Jan. 21, 2024 | Ohio State | L, 100-92 | 12-25 (48%) | 7-18 (38.9%) | 14-16 | 45 |
| Jan. 2, 2022 | Evansville | W, 93-56 | 18-26 (69.2%) | 2-7 (28.6%) | 6-7 | 44 |
| Nov. 9, 2023 | Virginia Tech | W, 80-76 | 13-31 (41.9%) | 5-16 (31.3%) | 13-17 | 44 |
| Jan. 31, 2022 | Ohio State | L, 92-88 | 16-28 (57.1%) | 7-14 (50%) | 4-6 | 43 |
| Feb. 2, 2023 | Maryland | W, 96-82 | 13-19 (68.4%) | 6-11 (54.5%) | 10-11 | 42 |
| March 5, 2022 | Nebraska | W, 83-66 | 13-27 (48.1%) | 5-13 (38.5%) | 10-12 | 41 |
| March 26, 2023 | Louisville | W, 97-83 | 11-19 (57.9%) | 8-14 (57.1%) | 11-13 | 41 |
| March 31, 2023 | South Carolina | W, 77-73 | 15-31 (48.4%) | 5-17 (29.4%) | 6-6 | 41 |
| April 1, 2024 | LSU | W, 94-87 | 13-29 (44.8%) | 9-20 (45%) | 6-7 | 41 |
NCAA Tournament 3-point records
There are several notable NCAA Tournament 3-point records. Clark set or tied several of them against LSU.
Clark's nine made 3-pointers tied the single-game NCAA Tournament record with Purdue's Courtney Moss from March 17, 2012, against South Dakota State, and with UConn's Kia Nurse on March 20, 2017, against Syracuse.
Clark also reached a career milestone with 69 made 3-pointers, surpassing the previous tournament record which was held by UConn's Diana Taurasi at 61.
Caitlin Clark records
There were a number of records Clark set on Monday, beyond just tying the made 3-point record and setting the career tournament records.
Clark surpassed Taylor Robertson for the NCAA record for most made 3-pointers in Division I women's basketball history, reaching 539 to pass the former Oklahoma star's record of 537.
And Clark also set the record for the most career NCAA Tournament assists with 140. LSU's Temeka Johnson held the previous record with 136.