CLEVELAND — Caitlin Clark first told Lisa Bruder during recruiting that she wanted to go to the Final Four. Hawkeye kept saying that when she arrived on campus, even though she had only been there once, 20 years ago. For part of Clark's high school career, they didn't even make the NCAA Tournament field.
“A lot of people laughed at her and probably laughed at her coming to Iowa,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bruder said. “But she believed, we believed, and she made everyone else in the locker room believe. And that's not easy.”
Perhaps that's why actor Jason Sudeikis, the author of “Ted Lasso,” was particularly passionate about Iowa. He is one of the millions of people who have watched and believed in Iowa and Clark over the past two years. At the very least, enjoy them and keep them occupied.
Every time the Clark logo turns into a 3, the eyeballs will triple. Every spectacular pass drew shocking viewership. The parts of the world that are currently heavily invested in women's basketball wanted her to win what was said to be the greatest national championship in history. Another segment couldn't see beyond the record, a spike in interest, and competitors who cared about the ring.
On the day before her final college game, she said she felt it was unfair that her accomplishments were tied to one 40-minute basketball game. Win or lose, she knew she would be sad when this chapter of her life came to an end. The last page featured an 87-75 loss to South Carolina, a top-to-bottom team in the nation's best program, but also included more of Clark's record and 30 more points. It had been.
That means her GOAT legacy will forever be up for debate. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said Saturday that she wouldn't be the GOAT without the title, but after the game she said she was “one of the GOATs of our game and I'm grateful.” He said he let the world know. Millions of people whose names could not be mentioned in the forum are now fiercely debating this matter, and will continue to do so for a long time to come. This will further enhance her status that she has built for herself and the game.
“Women’s sports thrive in a way when given the opportunity,” Clark said. “I think that was the best thing about this trip for me. We started the season playing in front of a crowd of 55,000 people at Kinnick Stadium. And now we're playing in front of probably 15 million-plus television sets. I'm about to finish playing it. It's just going to get better and better. It's never going to stop.”
Clark, the No. 4 overall recruit in the 2020 class, did not go to a powerhouse school. She committed to Bruder, and they led Iowa to back-to-back Final Fours for the first time in program history. Losing the title in 2023 was the first time the Hawkeyes played in a title game. They did it again in 2024.
Kate Martin, a redshirt fifth-year senior guard who grew up with Iowa State posters on her ceiling, never imagined it would become a reality. The Hawkeyes' roster worked well with Clark, but they are not one of the best teams in the country without her. Martin said their success was due to hard work, preparation and dedication. The second-year and his fifth-year guard Gabby Marshall are the two-year creators of his winningest run in Iowa program history.
“We really support each other,” Clark said. “Maybe we weren't always the most skilled. Maybe we weren't always the tallest. Maybe we weren't always the fastest. , we just believed. We knew we could encounter a moment like this. We trusted each other. It took us a few years to get to that point. Ta.”
Repeatedly over the past few months while breaking records, Clark has said he doesn't want his legacy to be about how many wins or how many points he scores. The day she broke Kelsey Plumb's NCAA Division I women's all-time scoring record, her mother, Ann, reminded her of it in a pre-recorded video celebrating the moment. Her family expressed her joy to the cheers of a packed Carver-Hawkeye Arena all season long.
That's the legacy Clark said Saturday he wanted to leave behind. Joy, shock, excitement.
“People don't remember every win or every loss,” Clark said after losing the title fight. “I think they just remember the moments they shared at our games and watching TV and how excited their young daughters and sons were watching women's basketball. I think that's pretty cool.”
One of them was sitting right next to her when she scored 18 points in the first quarter. Thirteen-year-old Caitlin Barrera and her father, Jesus, flew in from Orange County, Calif., to play in their second Final Four after watching Iowa in Dallas last year. A sign they planned and created together said, “This is our Daddy-Daughter Dance.”
Ms. Varela said she enjoyed watching Clark's teamwork and her teamwork as she brought awareness to the game and got them interested in the game in the same way she was invested in it. Her father believes that a better future will be created.
“As a club player, she will have more opportunities to play in different arenas,” Jesus said. “This isn’t just a men’s sport or a men’s sport, but it’s really going to have tournaments, opportunities and different training that weren’t available to her before.”
They stood with tens of thousands of people waiting outside the arena to welcome the team down a long red carpet down Ontario Street between Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and Progressive Field. The crowd pulsated as police sirens sounded as they passed.
When the Final Four-branded bus arrived and the teams were announced, the black-and-gold fans cheered as if Carver-Hawkeye had come home. The coaching staff arrived first, with Bruder leading the way and waving to the fans. The players then went up with Clark behind them.
Her accomplishments continued to be reflected in the eyes of the more than 18,300 people in the arena. Many wore black and gold No. 22 jerseys, which they wore throughout the weekend as they packed into coffeehouses, eateries and Final Four events. The title game rematch, her college career and the future of the WNBA dominated sports programming at a time when women's basketball historically received very little air time.
“I don’t really get upset when people say they’ve never watched women’s basketball before,” Clark said. “Yeah, I think you're a little late to the party. But two, it's cool. We're changing the game. We're attracting more people.”
In the first hour of his post-college career, Clark answered question after question as usual. Media have filled the venue since she broke her record in February. She reiterated that she has much more to come at Breakout, where she loves representing her home state and playing basketball at the University of Iowa. Her mother always told her to hold her head high, to be proud of what she has accomplished and to focus on what she has instead of sulking about what she doesn't have. He taught me how.
“I have no regrets about how things turned out,” Clark said. “It helps me sleep every night even if I’ve never won a national championship.”
She made it to the Final Four twice, but only made it to the Final Four once, against Iowa.
