BERLIN (Germany) - Caitlin Clark did not disappoint in her FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup debut, dropping 11 dimes to set a record for USA.
Playing around so many talented players... anybody I pass the ball to, it feels like they are never gonna miss a shot.
Coming off the bench, Clark wasted little time making an impact as the USA’s depth and offensive firepower proved too much for China to handle.
“I thought Caitlin was terrific, coming off the bench and changing the tempo of the game. Her playmaking with 11 assists,” shared USA head coach Kara Lawson in the post-game press conference.
It is the most assists a USA player has recorded in her Women's World Cup debut. Previously, the record was held by Alyssa Thomas who had 9 against Belgium in 2022.
For Clark, however, her debut was as much about learning as it was about performing. She arrived at the World Cup surrounded by teammates who have already experienced the highest level of international success.
“Being surrounded by five people who have won gold medals before at the highest level, I try to follow their lead and take every bit of wisdom they try to give me,” Clark said.
11 assists and no turnovers
She is also now only one of eight players to record more than 10 assists in a Women's World Cup game since the statistic was officially recorded in 1994. Moreover, Clark is the first player in the Women's World Cup to record at least 10 assists without a single turnover - making it the most amount of assists without committing a turnover.
With every player on the USA roster putting numbers on the scoreboard, Clark was spoiled for choice whenever she had the ball in her hands.
“Playing around so many talented players... anybody I pass the ball to, it feels like they are never gonna miss a shot.”
Most Assists by a player in a Single Game in the Women's World Cup*
Rank | Player | Team | Opposition | Year | Assists* | Turnovers |
1 | Julie Allemand | Belgium | France | 2018 | 13 | 3 |
- | Yuka Harada | Japan | Kenya | 1994 | 13 | 1 |
3 | Julie Allemand | Belgium | USA | 2018 | 12 | 3 |
- | Wei-Chuan Chien | Chinese Taipei | Tunisia | 2002 | 12 | 2 |
- | Dawn Staley | USA | Russia | 1998 | 12 | 1 |
6 | Caitlin Clark | USA | China | 2026 | 11 | 0 |
- | Emma Meesseman | Belgium | Puerto Rico | 2022 | 11 | 1 |
- | Licet Castillo Iglesias | Cuba | Slovakia | 1998 | 11 | 3 |
9 | Ineidis Casanova | Cuba | Belarus | 2014 | 10 | 2 |
- | Audrey Sauret Gillespie | France | Cuba | 2006 | 10 | 3 |
- | Itoro Umoh | Nigeria | Chinese Taipei | 2006 | 10 | 7 |
- | Choi Yoon-ah | Korea | Chinese Taipei | 2006 | 10 | 3 |
- | Laura Nicolini | Argentina | Canada | 2006 | 10 | 2 |
- | Kaori Kusuda | Japan | Senegal | 2002 | 10 | 3 |
- | Iveta Bieliková | Slovakia | Korea | 1998 | 10 | 5 |
- | Andrea Karolyi | Hungary | China | 1998 | 10 | 1 |
- | Erika Dobrovicova | Slovakia | Spain | 1994 | 10 | 4 |
*Since 1994
Clark's ability to find the open player was extremely valuable against China’s style of defense, an area Clark had identified before the game as one of her key areas of focus.
“That’s one of my goals when I come to a game; facilitate and play fast, set up my teammates, get in the paint and get some penetration, especially with their zone, that was one of my focus points coming into the game,” Clark explained.
Clark started the game in a facilitating mode, dishing out 4 dimes in her first four minutes of action. She finished the game as TCL Player of the Game with 14 points on 3 three-pointers and 22 EFF.
FIBA