If you want to sell out an arena, having Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark face off is a pretty good way to do so.
That fact has been well exemplified in college when both the two’s game in the 2024 Final Four was sold out at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ arena, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
You could also look to the Indiana Fever’s visit to College Park Center on Friday to take on the Dallas Wings and that being sold out before the WNBA season even started back in late-April.
It’s safe to say the interest is there, but what is the history between Clark and Bueckers? Below is the history between the two budding American basketball stars.
Sports Roundup
Team USA
No, the two sharing a basketball court doesn’t start with a game between Iowa and UConn. It actually tracks all the way back to their time with Team USA.
Bueckers and Clark were teammates once upon a time for the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand. The team also included the likes of former TCU star and current Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith, the Fever’s Aliyah Boston, Los Angeles Sparks’ Cameron Brink and the Atlanta Dream’s Rhyne Howard.
Bueckers was the leading scorer with 19 points in Team USA’s win over Australia in the final. Bueckers would go on to win the tournament MVP.
Both were just 17 years old at the time and highly touted recruits in their respective states of Minnesota and Iowa.
2021 Sweet Sixteen
The first time Bueckers and Clark met in college was in the 2021 NCAA tournament. A No. 1-seeded UConn matched up with a No. 5 Iowa at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) and Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) walk off the court after their college basketball game in the Sweet Sixteen round of the women’s NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Saturday, March 27, 2021.(Eric Gay / AP)
UConn jumped out to a 14-point lead at halftime and would never look back, as the Huskies beat Clark’s Iowa 92-72. Clark was Iowa’s leading scorer on the evening with 21 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. Bueckers nearly had a triple-double with 18 points, 8 assists and 9 rebounds.
UConn and Bueckers would go on to advance to the program’s 21st Final Four just a few days later.
2024 Final Four
By the time Bueckers and Clark met again on the hardwood, a lifetime of changes had happened for the duo.
Not only had Bueckers torn her ACL, undergone surgery and returned to lead her team to yet another Final Four appearance, but Clark had blossomed into a full-blown sports sensation, regularly selling out arenas, drawing comparisons to Stephen Curry and leading her Iowa team to nearly the mountain top of college sports in a national title game showing.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers, center, drives between Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke, left, and guard Gabbie Marshall, right, during the first half of a Final Four college basketball game in the women’s NCAA Tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Cleveland.(Morry Gash / AP)
This time, the roles were reversed from the two’s first matchup in the 2021 tournament, with Clark’s Iowa serving as the favorite and being the No. 1 seed and Bueckers’ UConn playing the underdog role, being a No. 3 seed.
In the national semifinal in Cleveland, the two teams played a classic with back and frequency lead exchanges and Iowa ultimately coming out on top 71-69 and Clark helping the Hawkeyes to the program’s second-ever national title game appearance.
Bueckers totaled 17 points, 3 assists and 4 rebounds. Clark racked up 21 points, 7 assists and 9 rebounds on the evening.
2025 WNBA regular season
Friday will mark the first time the two star guards will meet as professionals.
Clark is averaging 19.8 points, 8.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds a game for the 7-7 Indiana Fever squad that’s coming off a 94-86 win over the Storm at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Bueckers is averaging 18.2 points, 5.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game for a 4-12 Dallas Wings squad that’s won three of their last four games, including a recent 68-55 victory over the Atlanta Dream at College Park Center in Arlington.
Find more Wings coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.