It was a year-long journey for Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes but the squad finally got their last word in. Having dealt with taunts and jabs for losing to Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers in the Finals, last year, Clark and the Hawkeyes sustained a resounding victory in this 2023 championship game rematch. A battle that will be talked about for ages, ended up getting another aspect that fans will remember this matchup for.
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One of those was LSU’s head coach Kim Mulkey’s interaction with Clark after the latter finally achieved vindication. An Elite 8 battle for the spot in the Final Four ended in Iowa defeating LSU with a 94-87 final score. After the game, Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey sat with the media for a post-game press conference.
While talking to reporters, Mulkey was asked the strategy they went into this matchup with, to guard Caitlin Clark and share the words she exchanged with her in the handshake line after the game.
She said, “Well, there’s not a whole lot of strategy. You gotta guard her, nobody else seems to be able to guard her. We didn’t even guard her last year when we beat ‘em. She’s just a generational player and she just makes everybody around her better. That’s what the great ones do. I think they had a kid who scored 21 and 18, she(Caitlin Clark) had 12 assists.
Answering the question of her conversation with her, post-game, Mulkey hilariously added,
“Caitlin Clark is not gonna beat you by herself. It’s what she does to make those other teammates better that helps her score points and them score points to beat you. Um, what did I say to her? I said, ‘I sure am glad you leaving.’ I said, ‘Girl, you something else. Never seen anything like it.’”
Caitlin Clark absolutely balled out against the LSU Tigers, with 41 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds. Clark’s scoring rampage was not enough for the Tigers to handle, despite four LSU players finishing the game with double-digit points. Mulkey didn’t exactly divulge into their strategy to slow down Caitlin Clark.
Instead, she described her game in a way that more or less answered the reporter’s question. But after the game, she made sure to tell the Hawkeyes sharpshooter how glad she was that Clark was going to the WNBA next and Mulkey did not have to deal with her in the coming years.
Kim sings prayers over Caitlin Clark’s departure from college basketball
Kim Mulkey’s words for Caitlin Clark at the end of regulation turned out to be an absolute treat for fans as many reacted to it on X (formerly Twitter). And it may not be a stretch to say that internet trolls have gotten a brand new meme template.
One fan tweeted, “She meant that sh*t too.”
While another fan commented, “Caitlin broke Mulkey…..she made Kim appear to be almost human.”
Some fans even pointed out that such actions make another LSU player Hailey Van Lith look worse.
With her college basketball career coming to an end, Caitlin Clark was able to go out with a bang as she finally won an NCAA title that had eluded her all these years.
