Considered a Rival to Angel Reese, Where Does Caitlin Clark Stand After Her Recent Exploits?

NCAA sensation Caitlin Clark is on the verge of making history. She has come to the fore to take her team all the way to the March Madness. Averaging 32.2 points per game, Clark recently broke Kelsey Plum’s all-time leading women’s scorer record. She’s now close to going ahead of the legendary Pete Maravich. While the next game against the Ohio State will prove if she gets her name registered in the history books, one question that has the fans divided is if her arch-nemesis Angel Reese is as strong a player as Clark.

Reese averages 19 points per game with 13 rebounds per match this season. She thus averages a double double but she is nowhere close to Caitlin Clark when it comes to points. A detailed analysis of both their stats will give a better perspective on who is better.

How has Caitlin Clark performed?

Clark has been the go-to player for Iowa Hawkeyes. She has decimated points in double digits in all her games this season. She recently smashed a career-high 49 points against Michigan Wolverines. Clark has been all guns blazing this season and the biggest proof of her dominance are the records she has been breaking. She has six triple-doubles to her name this season. This once again just demonstrates Clark’s ability in all three spheres of the game – scoring, rebounding, and assisting.

The major thing that has distinguished Clark from all the other players is that she hasn’t let selfishness take over her. The Iowa point guard is as efficient in scoring as she’s in assisting. Thus she always seeks to serve her team in whatever capacity she can. A major plan of her gameplay is shooting three-pointers. She has eclipsed the Idaho star Taylor Pierce in scoring the most three-pointers in a single season.

Clark’s skills are important for any team she plays in because she can destruct her opponents from a distance much like the NBA starboy Stephen Curry. She has drawn a lot of parallels to Curry for her similar gameplay style. Clark is essentially a player who can be relied on during tough times. Like Curry, Clark single-handedly has helped her team. Though there have been contributions from other teammates, it is mostly Clark who has done the talking for her team. 

Read More: How Far Is Caitlin Clark From Becoming NCAA’s Queen?

Clark averages 7.4 rebounds with 8.7 assists per game. Her contribution can be seen in the stats. The next best is the forward Hannah Stuelke who averages 14.1 points per game and then comes the guard Kate Martin who averages a decent 13 points per contest. It can not be ignored that her teammates have contributed but today they all stand in Clark’s gigantic shadow. However, Reese has been very different from Clark.

How has Reese performed?

Reese has been double double queen ever since her transfer from the Maryland Terrapins. She helped her team to victory during the NCAA 2022-23 Championship Finale against Clark’s Hawkeyes. This season she completed her 50th double-double for the Louisiana State University Lady Tigers. Reese currently averages 19 points with 13 rebounds per match. With this, she stands atop the scoring and rebounds average for the LSU Lady Tigers. 

But she is not as offensive genius as Clark. She is well supported in her quest by Aneesah Morrow and Hailey Van Lith. There are times when even Flau’jae Johnson contributes to helping Reese and her team the Lady Tigers to win games. Reese unleashed her demons during the game against the Queen University Royals when she decimated 28 points. She showed a similar gameplay against the Alabama Crimson Tide when she smashed 27 points. Her ceiling has been good but is not as high as Clark’s.

Another important factor to note is that LSU as a team relies on their defense a lot. It was evident when in the National Championship game last year, the Lady Tigers smoked 102 points and restricted Caitlin Clark & Co. to 85. And that is where Reese’s rebounding skills come in handy. She has 7.4 defensive rebounds per match on average this season. 

Another point to note is that the Lady Tigers have always been a collective team. It was formed under their head coach Kim Mulkey when she decided to pick the best players from different teams and form a compatible group. Hence, Reese is not the only star player in the Lady Tigers’ roster. 

Who’s better: Clark or Reese?

Now that we have seen both the players, it is easier to understand the gameplay. Their playing style indicates that both teams function differently. While Hawkeyes rely much on their offense, Lady Tigers are more of a defensive team that likes to keep a balance between offensive and defensive capabilities.

Clark plays the role of an alpha and is the go-to scorer for Hawkeyes whereas Reese mostly plays a collective game. When Clark is surrounded by opponents she becomes more of an assist-maker. The ball finds Clark wherever she goes. On the other hand, Reese when not dominating with her points plies her trade as any other regular player would. Since both perform different functions it would not be ideal to compare the two.

Read More: 2024 All-Star Game: Caitlin Clark Set to Embark on NCAA’s Last Dance Alongside Angel Reese

But just because Clark has etched her name in golden alphabets in the NCAA books, she would definitely get a brownie point. Fans expect the same out of Reese. Whether Bayou Barbie does it or not is a talk for another day, but Clark surely inches miles ahead of Reese at least in the college basketball circuit since she will remembered for years to come.