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Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark logged her first senior national team start Sunday afternoon as USA Basketball beat New Zealand 101-46 in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In that start, she showcased her two-way ability. Clark isn't usually known for her defensive process, but she found an opportunity to steal a ball on a New Zealand inbound at the beginning of the second half, then stole the ball at midcourt and returned it for a quick transition layup.
Clark had significant time on the ball as the team's point guard, then had some minutes playing off the ball with Olympic gold medalist Chelsea Gray running point.
In 23 minutes on the floor, Clark had 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2 of 7 from 3-point range). Her point total was behind only Rhyne Howard, who had 18 points.
Clark also had a team-leading six assists, including a dime to Kiki Iriafen halfway through the fourth quarter to get a layup in transition. Clark has led Team USA in assists in two of its four games in the qualifiers.
USA Basketball fully moved away from the five-in, five-out switches it had done in the first three games of the tournament, giving senior national team players a better look at how a true game could be managed.
USA Basketball has one more game to finish out the qualifying tournament, playing Spainat at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67.
Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark stats today, USA vs New Zealand basketball score FIBA World Cup
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In that start, she showcased her two-way ability. Clark isn't usually known for her defensive process, but she found an opportunity to steal a ball on a New Zealand inbound at the beginning of the second half, then stole the ball at midcourt and returned it for a quick transition layup.
Clark had significant time on the ball as the team's point guard, then had some minutes playing off the ball with Olympic gold medalist Chelsea Gray running point.
In 23 minutes on the floor, Clark had 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2 of 7 from 3-point range). Her point total was behind only Rhyne Howard, who had 18 points.
Clark also had a team-leading six assists, including a dime to Kiki Iriafen halfway through the fourth quarter to get a layup in transition. Clark has led Team USA in assists in two of its four games in the qualifiers.
USA Basketball fully moved away from the five-in, five-out switches it had done in the first three games of the tournament, giving senior national team players a better look at how a true game could be managed.
USA Basketball has one more game to finish out the qualifying tournament, playing Spainat at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67.
Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark stats today, USA vs New Zealand basketball score FIBA World Cup
Continue reading...
