Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark continues to be half-woman, half-amazing. The all-time collegiate scoring leader grows the women's game to unprecedented levels whenever she takes the court, and there's no telling how far she'll take it by the time she hangs up the sneakers.

Clark propelled her top-seeded Hawkeyes (33-4) to victory over defending national champion LSU (31-6) Monday, 94-87, punching Iowa's Final Four ticket for the second straight year. Her 41-point, 12-assist masterpiece sparked many strong reactions from the hoops world, with many, including Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverly anointing her as “the real deal.”

Will Clark and Iowa be able to finish the job and cut down the nets?

Clark and Iowa are taking the basketball world by storm

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) controls the ball against LSU Lady Tigers guard Flau'jae Johnson (4) in the fourth quarter in the finals of the Albany Regional in the 2024 NCAA Tournament at MVP Arena.
© Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Clark fired off a bold quote on March 24th that turned some heads, but it appears there may be something to her claims, via Hawkeye Headquarters' Blake Hornstein

“People are more excited about the women's side than the men's side, and I think that's obviously something that's really never been the case before,” Clark said. “It's cool to see how it's evolved.

With the men's game historically trumping the women's in viewership, this may seem like an ambitious thought to those who haven't been paying attention. However, Clark was number one trending on Twitter in the United States following the Elite Eight thriller, with LSU's Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith not far behind her.

The contest's viewership numbers hadn't been released at the time of this writing, but the game was projected to draw a record amount of spectators. For context, LSU's National Championship victory over Iowa last season “drew a record 9.9 million viewers on ABC, making it the most-watched women’s college basketball game and the largest audience for any college basketball game—men’s or women’s—on Disney’s platforms,” via David Rumsey of Front Office Sports.

This uptick has resulted in more cultural discourse surrounding the game, including from influential figures.

“@CaitlinClark22 is OFFICIAL! She is putting on an absolute show,” tweeted ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, one of the nation's top pundits. “37 points 9-of-18 shooting from 3-point range. LSU does not have an answer for her. Not Reese. Not Johnson. Not Mulkey. Not anyone. #LordHaveMercy.”

Indeed, while stars like Reese, Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins have all helped popularize the women's game, Clark is in her own class. After Monday's victory, the senior guard set the Division I record for three-pointers, as well as the NCAA Tournament records for three-pointers and assists. Her nine made threes against the Tigers also tied the tournament's single-game record.

However, Clark's legacy won't be complete unless the Hawkeyes finish the job and win their first National Title in program history. At that point, she'll have done everything possible at the collegiate level, and will then be able to turn her attention to the WNBA. Even if Iowa does lose, though, what she's done for women's college basketball will go down in history.