Caitlin Clark Value Add Debut vs. Penn State 2012

Scroll past the preview for the box score and game results at the bottom after this preview - as Alex Bentley kept Penn State close by harassing Caitlin Clark and her Iowa teammates for 20 turnovers ... (continued at bottom)

 We celebrated the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft Caitlin Clark, ranked as the 8th greatest college player ever in the Value Add Basketball Game, by having her debut in a game. For the first time since playing LSU with Pete Maravich, we have three dimes on one player to indicate she not only gets the ball on the position roll if 1, but also in the 8-sided die roll of 6, 7 and 8.

Note in the top of the scoresheet Iowa's layup range of 51-62 with Penn State's below average +2 defense actually takes Iowa 2 above the max 51-66 range. Therefore even though Penn State's range of 51-52 and Iowa's very weak +7 defense would make Penn State's range 51-63 on the table we lower that by 2 to match taking Iowa down to 51-66 to get a 51-61 in a defense optional for the game.

Penn State's star Maggie Lucas has one of the three dimes meaning she gets the ball in a 3 or 7 when you go left to right with the players in the game at the outset (in the game we play reserves first to finish the game with the top row of starters). 

The tip off - roll the dice at 11:05 pm Central, and the game concluded at 11:34 for a very fast 29 minutes play time. Granted I invented the game so know it well, and this game actually had only 7 fouls (6 on Iowa and 1 on Penn State) to keep it moving fast, but the game is designed to let you play i about 45 minutes once you are used to it.

With 16 possessions left, 14-point underdog Penn State 2012 was within 50-57. Caitlin Clark had been held to 14 points, with only super sub Molly Davis keeping Iowa ahead, and Penn State's Alex Bentley had seven steals including a few off Clark. In fact, if Penn State had converted HALF of those seven steals into baskets they would have led at that point.

However, on the next play Sydney Affolter drew a foul and hit a free throw to make it 58-50. She missed the second free throw but the rebound chart came up Offensive Small Forward. On free throws only the offensive power forward or center can try for a rebound on the chart (other offensive positions automatically go to the defensive center. UNLESS one of those two are shooting the free throws, which in this case was the case since at the time Affolter was the 4th coin from left to right in the game - and that made small forward Kate Martin and with her Defense Rebound range of 1-6, the 6-sided die rolls are all in her range so she grabbed the rebound and scored to make it 60-50. 

Bentley scored at the other end to keep her hot game going and cut it to single digits (52-60), but Clark hit a 3-pointer at the other end to make it 63-52 and Penn State could never get it back to single digits. Clark exploded the rest of the way and hit her average 32 points exactly in a 84-64 win to advance.

Pos	Penn St. 2012	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl	Season Actual
1-PG	Alex Bentley	11	1	4	0	2	1	7	0	1	12 pts, 6'0
2-SG	Zhaque Gray	8	0	3	2	4	1	1	0	1	11.9 pts, 6'1
3-SF	Maggie Lucas	9	1	2	2	2	3	0	0	1	10.6 pts, 6'4
4-PF	Mia Nickson	6	0	3	0	0	5	0	0	2	6.7 pts, 6'6
5-C	Nikki Greene	14	0	5	4	4	3	1	2	1	24.9 pts, 7'4
1-PG	Gizelle Studevent	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0.7 pts, 6'7
2-SG	Ariel Edwards	6	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	1	3.4 pts, 6'5
3-SF	Marisa Wolfe	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	3.3 pts, 6'7
4-PF	Tori Waldner	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	6.4 pts, 6'9
5-C	Talia East	4	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	2.2 pts, 6'10
	15 Turnovers	64	2	25	8	12	18	9	2	11
Pos	Iowa 2024	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl	Season Actual
1-PG	Caitlin Clark	32	4	10	0	1	4	1	0	2	6'0, 32.0 Pts
2-SG	Kate Martin	10	0	5	0	0	4	3	1	1	6'0, 13.1 Pts
3-SF	Sydney Affolter	5	0	2	1	2	4	0	0	2	5'11,8.3 Pts
4-PF	Gabbie Marshall	5	1	1	0	0	3	0	0	1	5'9,6.1 Pts
5-C	Hannah Stuelke	6	0	3	0	0	7	1	1	3	6'2,13.8 Pts
1-PG	Molly Davis	16	2	4	2	2	4	0	0	3	5'7, 6.1 Pts
2-SG	Taylor McCabe	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	5'9,3.5 Pts
3-SF	Kylie Feuerbach	4	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'0, 2.6 Pts
4-PF	Addison O'Grady	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'4,4.1 Pts
5-C	Sharon Goodman	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'3,4.5 Pts
	20 Turnovers	84	7	30	3	5	30	5	2	16