Caitlin Clark has taken quite a beating from opponents to start her WNBA career … and her college coach, Lisa Bluder, has a few ideas on how the league can put an end to it.

TMZ Sports spoke with the recently retired Iowa Hawkeyes women’s hoops legend on Thursday … and asked her all about the treatment her former superstar guard has received so far in the pros.

While Bluder doesn’t believe Caitlin is intentionally being “targeted,” she does think players are giving her their “best shot” night after night — because “they think that’s the way that they can stop her, is by physical dominance over her.”

“If we start calling more fouls and emphasize the rules, the players will adjust, ’cause they want to be on the floor.”

Bluder said if a more egregious act is committed by a player, they need to be ejected from the game and slapped with a fine — and she’s not talking a few bucks. She wants it to hurt their wallets.

“I think that’s the only way to change the behavior,” Bluder said. “And I think what’s gonna happen is more people are gonna enjoy the game.”

While calling more fouls may not be the most popular fix … keeping the best players healthy seems like a goal everyone should be rooting for … especially after Clark was involved in quite the scuffle earlier this week.