Caitlin Clark didn’t just exact revenge on LSU for last year’s national title game. She made the Tigers tap out with a mentally eviscerating shooting night, delivering a historical output for Iowa in the process.

When the final whistle blew, Clark had delivered 41 points and 12 assists while shooting 9-for-20 from 3-point range. In true Clark fashion, her scoring was the big storyline. Still, it was her distribution that took the Hawkeyes to another level with Sydney Affolter and Kate Martin delivering 16 and 21 points, respectively.

Most of Clark’s buckets were also under duress. This was not open shot after open shot with Clark frustrating LSU while delivering big-time buckets time after time from range and often with a hand in her face.

Hailey Van Lith’s reaction to one particular basket perfectly summed up the situation. After Clark drained one shot contested by LSU, Van Lith simply shrugged in defeat as if there was nothing else the Tigers could do Monday night.

After the game, Van Lith summed up the night by admitting there’s not much that could be done the way Clark was playing:

“Caitlin is very skilled. She’s a great player. She hit some tough shots. There’s not a whole lot you can do about some of the threes she hit,” Van Lith said.

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey was also brutally honest in revealing there was “not a lot of strategy” involved in guarding Clark, simply because no one else has been able to guard Iowa’s superstar. A truly generational talent, Mulkey said it was the same strategy (or lack of strategy) the Tigers used while winning the national title game last season.

The difference this time around was the performance of Iowa’s role players:

“Well, there’s not a lot of strategy. You’ve got to guard her. Nobody else seems to be able to guard her. We didn’t even guard her last year when we beat them,” explained Mulkey. “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 that scored 21 and 18. She had 12 assists. Caitlin Clark is not going to 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.”

In a true sign of complete defeat, Mulkey said her message to Clark after the loss was gratitude that Clark is headed to the WNBA Draft after the season:

“What did I say to her? I said, I sure am glad you’re leaving. I said, Girl, you something else,” Mulkey revealed. “Never seen anything like it.”

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Unfortunate history for LSU

Despite trailing at the end of the 1st quarter, Iowa used a 16-point swing across the 2nd and 3rd quarters to pull away from the Tigers. LSU would outscore Iowa in the 4th quarter, but it was not enough as the Hawkeyes secured the 94-87 win.

Mulkey admitted the pace caught her by surprise as she saw LSU playing at the pace Iowa wanted to establish. In the end, she felt that played a big role in the swing.

“In talking to my team, we played to their pace. We ended the first quarter with the lead, but I think their pace dictated that third quarter,” said Mulkey. “I think it really hit us in the third quarter, that pace.”

As for the historical aspect, ESPN revealed Iowa’s 94 points are the most ever given up by a Mulkey-coached team in regulation. History for the Hawkeyes means misery for LSU, and Clark is the magician behind it all.

No matter how you look at it, Clark thoroughly defeated LSU physically and mentally in a night for the ages.