BERLIN â Megan DiLeo will be looking to lead Team Spain to an upset win over the U.S. in the FIBA Women’s World Cup semifinal on Saturday. That means she will be taking on her old friend Caitlin Clark.
But DiLeo, Spain’s star center and a 2025 WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces, may have to wait for Clark to come off the bench before seeing her on the hardwood. USA coach Kara Lawson has opted to start veteran Chelsea Gray over Clark at point guard for the U.S.’s first four games, despite Clark putting up superior numbers and playing more minutes.
But DiLeo doesn’t believe that Clark not starting will make things any easier for Spain on Saturday.
When asked if Clark not starting on Saturday will put Team Spain at an advantage, DiLeo said, “No, I don’t think so. She’s just a great player, it doesn’t really matter when she goes into a game, she’s going to make an impact.”
DiLeo added, “We just gotta be ready for her and for the rest of the roster. They’re talented, they’re deep. It kind of doesn’t really matter who comes in.”
Saturday will be a reunion for the two Iowa alumni, as DiLeo played for the Hawkeyes from 2015-19, before Clark showed up on campus one year later.
DiLeo said Friday that she helped recruit Clark to Iowa back then.
“I was actually part of the recruiting process that she was kind of going through, figuring out where she wanted to go, as far as that, and she chose Iowa,” DiLeo said. “Whenever I go back to visit campus and stuff and she was still playing we would get to interact and stuff, we check in on eachother every once in a while now. Just super happy we get to represent Iowa.”
DiLeo added that she hasn’t spoken to Clark since they arrived in Germany for the World Cup due to scheduling constraints, but she’s “excited” to see Clark on Saturday.
DiLeo won consensus National Player of the Year honors in 2019 and finished her college career with 2,804 points and a school-record 1,460 rebounds. Iowa later retired her No. 10.
Clark became a two-time consensus National Player of the Year and finished her career with 3,951 points, the most in NCAA Division I basketball history. She also led Iowa to consecutive national championship games before the school retired her No. 22.
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Saturday will not be the first time they have faced each other internationally.
The U.S. defeated Spain 84-70 during the World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico in March. DiLeo scored 15 points for Spain, while Clark finished with seven points and seven assists. Clark was later named the tournaments most valuable player after leading the Americans to a 5-0 record.
DiLeo became a naturalized Spanish citizen in 2023 and made her debut for Spain at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She averaged 18 points and 9.3 rebounds during that tournament and has remained one of the countrys most important interior players.
She helped Spain reach Saturdays
