Caitlin Clark ready for Final Four redemption in front of millions of viewers
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WISH) — Caitlin Clark is ready for redemption.
After losing in the national title game last year, Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes have their eyes set on a national title. They’re playing in their second-straight Final Four, this time wanting to bring home some hardware.
“It doesn’t get old seeing so many people talk about women’s basketball. For me, that’s the greatest thing,” Clark said Friday.
She’s been the greatest thing in women’s basketball, helping draw millions to the sport with her extreme talent and passion.
“When I look at Caitlin and what she does, I mean, it’s absolutely amazing, as we all know,” Iowa women’s basketball head coach Lisa Bluder said. “Her shots. Her passing. Her ability to elevate at the highest level on the biggest stage, those are the people we should be paying attention to.”
And they are. Iowa’s Elite Eight game against LSU had 12.3 million viewers, shattering every other women’s basketball record.
“It’s hard to wrap your head around it,” Clark said. “You see those numbers up against, like, it was only beat out by one regular season college football game. We beat out every NBA game other than the Game 5 of the Finals, I think that really puts into perspective what exactly where women’s basketball is going and the type of excitement around our game.”
Clark and her Hawkeyes need two more wins to hang a banner in Iowa City. Yes, Clark wants to finally win that national title, but it’s more than that for the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer as she ends her collegiate career.
“I hope they remember how we made them feel, how we brought joy to their lives, how we gave their families something to scream about on the TV on the weekends,” Clark said about her fans. “I hope those are the biggest things people remember. I hope all the young boys and girls remember the joy that we played with and how we took 10 seconds of our time to sign their autograph and that inspired them to be whatever they want to be.”
When Clark’s done in Cleveland, she’ll head to New York for the WNBA Draft, which is just eight days after the national title game. The Indiana Fever have the No. 1 overall pick of that draft. The general thought is that Clark will be coming to the Circle City.
Indianapolis couldn’t be more excited.