Kara Lawson watched on as Caitlin Clark and Team USA secured a 105-64 win over Czechia on Monday afternoon, finishing the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup group stage with a perfect 3-0, winning Group D. Now, Team USA will await their next matchup on Thursday, automatically advancing to the quarterfinals.
Clark had another solid outing in the USA’s win over Czechia, tallying nine points and seven assists in nearly 22 minutes off the bench. And while the Iowa legend is leading the way in assists for her team, she has struggled with her long-range shooting so far during the 2026 FIBA World Cup.
In the opening win over China, Clark finished with 14 points, shooting 3-of-7 from 3-point range. However, against Italy on Sunday, the Fever star failed to make a single basket, missing all three of her 3-point attempts.
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And while Clark bounced back against Czechia, she still shot just 1-of-6 from long range. This brings her total through three games to just 4-of-16, shooting 25% from 3-point range. This is a big drop from her 2026 WNBA season average with Indiana, shooting 37.3% from deep.
Amid her shooting struggles, Lawson was asked about Clark’s difficulties from 3-point range. The Duke women’s basketball coach defended her star guard, saying it’s normal for shooters to go through cold stretches.
“I didn’t even know that, I don’t count how many they miss, I just want their shot quality to be high,” Lawson said. “I think Caitlin’s done a solid job in this tournament taking the right shots at the right times. That’s normal for any shooter, to have stretches where you’re hot and stretches where you’re a little bit cold.
“But she provides a great playmaking aspect to her game on our team. We rely on her at the point guard position when she’s in to run the team. We saw that in the first game when she had 11 assists and zero turnovers. She’s another young player thats feeling her way through her first World Cup. She’s really motivated and wanting to help our team win and I think that’s a great place to be”
Clark and Team USA will be back in action on Thursday in the 2026 FIBA World Cup quarterfinals, facing the winner of Hungary vs. Japan.
