Stephanie White Weighs in on Caitlin Clark’s Team USA World Cup Start
There has been a lot of interest about how Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark would fare playing for Team USA in the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament, given that it was her first time competing in an actual game since last July.
It has been somewhat mixed results for Clark through two games. She looked fantastic during Team USA's opening game win over Senegal, tallying 17 points and 12 assists (which was the second-most assists in a single game in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament's history) in 19 minutes played.
It wasn't as smooth sailing for No. 22 in Team USA's next game against Puerto Rico. She finished with 8 points (including going 1 of 5 from three-point range), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 turnovers in 19 minutes.
Fever Coach Stephanie White Reacts To Caitlin Clark’s Team USA World Cup Start
Clark isn't the only Indiana Fever representative for Team USA, as her head coach, Stephanie White, is an assistant coach under Kara Lawson. White did an interview that was published on March 13 and spoke about Clark's World Cup start.
“I thought she’s been great. I think she really set the tone with her facilitating in game one. I mean, she’s one of the greatest passers that the game has ever seen, and now she’s got so many weapons on the floor. And finding her way, and seeing what each player’s strengths are, how to put them in positions to be successful. I thought she shot the ball well in game one, I didn’t think she rushed," White said of Clark, per an X post @FeverBandwagon.
"You know, I was concerned about her having some nerves. It had been a minute since she had been on the floor. And I thought she was really good. I thought she was good on the defensive end of the floor as well. Game two was a little bit different, in the way that Puerto Rico came out with their pressure and being a little bit more disruptive. And we’ve gotta be able to play different styles, she’s gonna have to be able to see different things," White continued.
"And at the same time, I think she showed why she’s elite. She adjusts, she played with great pace, I thought she looked really good. Playing a back-to-back after she had been off for so long, it’s hard to simulate real-life, in-game adrenaline, pace, rhythm, timing. And I thought her work that she’s done this off-season showed.”
How would you evaluate Caitlin’s return so far?
— Jess (@FeverBandwagon) March 14, 2026
Steph “I thought she’s been great… she really set the tone with her facilitating in game one. She’s one of the greatest passers that the game has ever seen. Now she’s got so many weapons on the floor. Finding her way, seeing what… pic.twitter.com/K7KPnQfJZl
Clark and Team USA will return to the court against Italy on March 14.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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