Iowa senior explains difficult adjustment without Caitlin Clark on court

The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team hasn’t made much of a step up from its previous teams led by superstar Caitlin Clark.

While the Hawkeyes suffered the first loss of their 2024-25 season against Tennessee on Dec. 7 in the Women’s Champions Classic, they are still 8-1 on the season and ranked No. 21 in the country.

However, the fact that Iowa is averaging 76.7 points per game this season, compared to an average of 91 points per game in 2023-24, makes it clear that – as anyone would expect – missing Clark has been detrimental to their offensive success .

And Iowa senior Sydney Affolter spoke out about it to the media earlier this week.

“The (opposing) defense was obviously very spread out last year, a little bit more so,” Affolter said, according to YouTube channel Hawk Central. “I mean, people were guarding Caitlin at the logo the whole time. But just with their passes, sometimes you were open that you didn’t think you would be open. And I think I’m definitely still figuring that out. “I’ll be at the fence and I think I’m ready for a chance… and last year I would have had that chance in a heartbeat.

“I just play with Caitlin, nobody fits in like her,” Affolter continued. “So it’s definitely a change.”

It’s easy to imagine how difficult it would be to adapt if you were no longer playing without arguably the best passer in the world in your squad.

Although Indiana Fever can benefit from it now.