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IOWA CITY, Iowa \u2014 It\u2019s impossible to pinpoint the exact moment when it was determined in Iowa that any shot that left Caitlin Clark<\/a>\u2019s hands was not just a reasonable shot, but also a good shot. Because there are green lights, and then there are green<\/em> lights. And Clark has matter-of-factly operated in the latter for much of her career.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s a solid argument to be made that it was Feb. 6, 2022.<\/p>\n It was Clark\u2019s<\/a> sophomore season, and while she had been putting up big numbers, she wasn\u2019t yet considered the one-woman wrecking crew that she has now become. To get to that level of lore, a player needs to not just throw the rocks but slay Goliath. And at that point, though she was a massive scorer, she was on a team that hadn\u2019t yet taken down the best opponents. The Hawkeyes<\/a> were 1-9 against top-25 teams in her career and they were on the road facing No. 6 Michigan.<\/p>\n She started the game with a step-back from the free throw line and followed up with a pull-up triple. She tossed in some drives and more mid-ranges, but the real treat came when she began hitting logo 3s during the fourth quarter as the Hawkeyes (read: Clark) attempted to pull off the upset. In one 92-second span she hit three transition 3s, the final while being swarmed by Michigan<\/a> defenders who Clark<\/a> put on skates. She finished with 46 points. Though Iowa still lost, something in that night shifted.<\/p>\n Oh\u2026 my\u2026 goodness. @CaitlinClark22<\/a> #Hawkeyes<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/GWkkay66hc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 7, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As the broadcasters shouted through their mics after yet another logo triple, \u201cWhat did she do? What did she just do?\u201d Iowa coach Lisa Bluder walked calmly along the sideline, not even surprised or elated enough to uncross her arms. Without context, she simply looks like a coach saying same old, same old as she turned to her bench.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first, when you\u2019re coaching her, it\u2019s kind of entertaining in practice when she takes some of those and makes some of those shots. But then in games as the coach, you\u2019re thinking, \u2018Oof, that\u2019s not advised,\u2019 \u201d Bluder said. \u201cBut there\u2019s the point where you realize, \u2018She\u2019s different than everyone else and she can actually make these at a pretty alarming rate.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a shift in my mind,\u201d she added. \u201cAt that point it was like, \u2018OK, we\u2019re going to go with this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis\u201d as in: For Clark, anything goes.<\/p>\n And since Feb. 6, 2022, this has worked pretty well for both Clark and Iowa. The senior is now 39 points shy of the NCAA women\u2019s basketball scoring record, and the Hawkeyes, who slayed South Carolina \u2014 the Goliath of women\u2019s basketball \u2014 in last season\u2019s Final Four, are now recognized nationally as a powerhouse and firmly nationally ranked No. 2 this season behind the Gamecocks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Clark is a recognized name outside of the women\u2019s basketball world, a player who is shadowed by security officers before and after games and at public events. She has NIL partnerships with Nike, State Farm and Gatorade. She is the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft if she declares, and the biggest headache for opposing coaches in women\u2019s college hoops if she opts to return for her fifth year.<\/p>\n\n