In Bloomington, during the matchup between Indiana women’s basketball team and Iowa, sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser closely monitored the movements of Iowa guard Caitlin Clark.

As the shot clock winded down late in the second quarter, Clark, the nation’s top scorer, sought an opportunity near IU’s bench. Bargesser remained vigilant, refusing to be swayed by Clark’s feints and keeping her arms wide to deter any drives to the hoop.

In a last-ditch effort, Clark attempted a behind-the-back pass as the shot clock expired, prompting a standing ovation from the packed crowd at Assembly Hall.

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“I thought our guys from the jump really got after it defensively,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said, after her team’s 86-69 win. “I thought we made everything very difficult for Caitlin Clark tonight and that’s hard to do. She’s a phenomenal player.”
During much of the second quarter, Bargesser was tasked with containing Clark for over nine minutes, while Chloe Moore-McNeil remained sidelined due to three fouls. Moore-McNeil and Sara Scalia exhibited equal focus when they were assigned defensive duties.

Despite averaging 32.8 points per game this season, Clark encountered significant resistance from Indiana’s defense. Although she managed to score Iowa’s initial seven points, scoring proved challenging for the senior throughout the game.

Clark’s shooting performance reflected this struggle, as she only managed to shoot 30.7% from the field (8 of 26) and 18.5% from beyond the arc (3 of 16). This marked just the third instance this season where she shot below 40%, and her poorest showing from long-range in conference play.

Indiana’s defensive pressure intensified in the second half, limiting Clark to only four points on 2 of 13 shooting (0 for 7 from 3-point range). Furthermore, she remained scoreless for the final 9 minutes and 33 seconds of the game, as Iowa attempted to close a double-digit deficit.
“Very physical,” Clark said, of IU’s defensive approach. “I think that was the main thing. Kind of pushed me off my spots and got me a little deeper than I wanted to be.”

“They were just tenacious,” she later added
Indiana’s victory over Caitlin Clark and Iowa wasn’t solely attributed to Bargesser’s defensive efforts; it was also a result of strategic adjustments by the coaching staff.

Teri Moren, the head coach of Indiana, revealed that her coaching team devised a new game plan specifically tailored to counter Clark’s strengths, contrasting with their approach in a previous matchup earlier in the season. In that encounter, Clark’s impressive performance led to a dominant win for Iowa, with her scoring 30 points, including six successful 3-pointers.

This time, Indiana implemented a variety of defensive tactics aimed at disrupting Clark’s rhythm. They opted for different defensive formations, employing more switches on off-ball screens, applying increased pressure on Clark, and adopting a face-guarding strategy during breaks in play. These adjustments were crucial in limiting Clark’s impact on the game.
“I’m almost positive they didn’t score off dead balls,” Moren said. “We couldn’t stay completely man-to-man the entire game, we threw out a little bit of a zone there and tried to face guard and make her work.”

It’s why Iowa coach Lisa Bluder had such an easy time summing up the loss at the start of her post game press conference.

“They had a great game plan that I think frustrated Caitlin at times,” Bluder said.