CLEVELAND -- Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder has watched Caitlin Clark score more points than anyone in Division I history. But perhaps what has most impressed Bluder about her superstar guard -- who leads the Hawkeyes into Sunday's NCAA championship game (3 p.m., ABC) vs. undefeated South Carolina -- is how much she has grown in motivating her teammates.
"Before, it was like all fire and no love," Bluder said of the perfectionist Clark. "And now she understands that you can give some fire, if you've invested enough in the love part."
Back in October, Clark said one of the main ways she would judge her senior season was how well she embraced being a leader for the Hawkeyes, who are in the NCAA final for the second year in a row.
After Hannah Stuelke led Iowa with 23 points in Friday's national semifinal victory over UConn, the sophomore beamed in the postgame interview when Clark praised her.
"My teammates ride my emotions whether I like it or not, whether it's positive or whether it's negative," Clark said. "That's something I've had to learn: They're going to feel what I feel. I'm their emotional leader.
"It's something I've embraced, and it's a powerful tool, like you saw. The things I can say about my teammates and truly believe and instill that confidence in them, that's one of the coolest things as a point guard, as a leader, as a friend, as a teammate. That's how much better you can make people by just believing in them and telling that to them, to their face."
Bluder will be coaching Clark for the final time Sunday and said she has tried to savor the moments with her and the other Iowa seniors who have led the program to unprecedented heights these past two years.
Iowa guards Gabbie Marshall, Kate Martin and Molly Davis (out with a knee injury) all came back for their fifth year this season, via the COVID-19 waiver from the pandemic-affected 2020-21 season. Reserve post player Sharon Goodman is opting to move on from basketball to go to nursing school.
Clark could have come back to Iowa for a fifth season in 2024-25. But she announced on Feb. 29 she was ready to declare for the WNBA draft, where she is expected to be the No. 1 pick on April 15 by the Indiana Fever.
"Ever since she made her decision, we've been intentional about remembering moments or spending time," Bluder said. "Today I got to have breakfast with her. Just valuing that time and remembering it, like making sure you're there.
"Like when you're having time with your seniors, don't be distracted by scouting reports or by phones and that sort of stuff, but actually being there." Bluder also joked that if Clark wanted to, she would still be welcome to stay one more year at Iowa.
"Can she still change her mind? Is that possible?" Bluder said with a smile. "I would like that very much."