The No. 1 ranked Iowa women's basketball program marches into the NCAA Tournament on Saturday with the utmost confidence after a 29-4 season led by superstar Caitlin Clark. The projected top pick in the WNBA Draft has been a household name all year long and put up ridiculous numbers, leading the nation in points with 31.9 per night to go along with 8.9 assists and 7.3 rebounds.
Ahead of the Hawkeyes' first-round tilt with #16 Holy Cross on Saturday, head coach Lisa Bluder joined the Pat McAfee Show on Friday and discussed Clark's impact both on and off the court for Iowa.
“I think she's had a huge impact, not only for fan support I mean we sold out very quickly every single game and everywhere we go but also with recruiting, just with the added TV exposure, you're on TV and recruits can see you so that's a good thing and they like what Iowa is all about, they like the fan support, they like the community, we play a fun brand of basketball, we lead the country in scoring, assists, and field goal percentage so that's a fun style.”
Clark looking to take Iowa all the way
Caitlin Clark has put women's college hoops on the radar in a big way. She broke onto the scene in 2022-23 and took Iowa to the national championship but ultimately lost to Angel Reese and LSU. In 2023-24, the Hawkeyes will be hoping to get revenge on that gut-wrenching defeat and lift the grand prize.
Clark made history in early March, passing Pete Maravich for the most points in NCAA history, a record that was held for 54 years. While she's known for her ability to drain deep 3-pointers, Clark is a versatile player who can impact the game in more ways than one.
The Hawkeyes compiled a 15-3 record in Big Ten play and head into March Madness on a six-game winning streak. Bluder knows this will be her last time coaching Clark, but she's trying to keep the emotions in and just focus on the task at hand: Winning it all.
Via Hawk Central:
“I know how fortunate I have been as a coach to have the greatest player in America, men or women, basketball-wise,” Bluder said. “But I haven't gotten emotional about the end of the year. … I haven't really thought that far. I kind of keep the blinders on and go one game at a time.”
Clark and Iowa will have the opportunity to play at home for the first two rounds, which gives the phenom a chance to be in front of the Hawkeyes fans one more time along with other starters Katie Martin and Gabbie Marshall. While that's motivation in itself, the mission remains the same:
“I feel like that’s not really how we’re approaching it,” Caitlin Clark said Friday. “I feel like we’re approaching it like this is very businesslike. We are here to win, get back to the Final Four. I feel like if you approach it in a way of, ‘This is the end, this is our last time playing on our home court, this is our last time hosting,’ you could get too caught up in the emotions of it.”
Generational talent
Caitlin Clark is the type of player that only comes around once every 40 years. She's expected to be taken by the Indiana Fever in the draft and WNBA ticket prices have already skyrocketed because of Clark's impending arrival.
The 22-year-old will be hoping she has a ring before turning pro.
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