CLEVELAND — Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder could not put the words together yet.
Of course, Bluder has one of the best vantage points when it comes to watching Caitlin Clark play basketball. No. 1 Iowa advanced to their second straight national championship game with a 71-69 victory against No. 3 UConn at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday, and Bluder was still sorting out the scoresheet at the podium.
"Has it hit you yet that you only have one game with Caitlin?"
The Hawkeyes (34-4) face No. 1 South Carolina (37-0) in a rematch of last year's Final Four thriller. In a year where the growth in women's basketball has soared, the championship game offers the best stage possible.
"No, it hasn't hit me that I only have one game with her," Bluder said. "That's going to be rough because it's been such a joy to coach her and to be part of watching women's basketball grow and be excited about her."
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The Hawkeyes are 65-11 the last two seasons with back-to-back national championship appearances. Clark scored a NCAA record 3,921 career points with a patented logo 3-pointer that has become the signature shot for one of the greatest basketball stars of all time at any level.
"I think it feels like every time we're going into a game in this NCAA Tournament it's like everybody wanted to see this, just one after the next," Clark said. "I think it's good for women's basketball. I think being in this moment before I think gives our group a good understanding of what to expect."
If the weekend in Cleveland is any indication, then it is clear Clark is the main attraction for one more game. When Clark squares up and launches a 3-pointer, you can hear the collective deep breath from thousands who watch in anticipation. Clark started 0 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half against UConn. With 8:11 left in the third quarter, Clark ran off a double screen and buried a 3-pointer to cut the Huskies lead to 36-34.
That is when the temperature of the game turned up.
"It's this kind of game a few years ago she would have gotten so frustrated," Bluder said. "She would have been really upset in the huddles. She wasn't that at all, and sometimes people can feed off of her if she's like emotionally in a bad way. I thought that her composure in the huddle, even when things weren't going well for her in the first half, was really a sign of her growth."
On Friday, 18,284 people in attendance got to experience what millions are watching on television. They want to see Clark and the long 3-pointers. In the event-level halls, hundreds or reporters got their first impression of Clark on Thursday. It was even more impressive.
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Caitlin Clark Mania comes to Cleveland
At least a hundred cameras positioned around the court at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday afternoon – with everyone ready to press record during Iowa's 15-minute practice period. Clark emerged from the tunnel. Matching black practice jersey and shorts. Gold undershirt. Black-and-gold retro Kobe Bryant shoes. This is the trendiest look in women's basketball.
That entrance – and the corresponding paparazzi – shows a phenomenon college basketball hasn't encountered with a team since the Fab Five at Michigan in the early 1990s or an individual since Stephen Curry at Davidson in 2007-08. The fascination factor with Clark continues, even if most of those questions have been answered. Everyone wants a glimpse at No. 22. Everyone wants to know why she wears No. 22.
"Honestly, I'm not a very creative person," Clark said. "I was born on Jan. 22. It's what I went with when I was about 5 years old."
"Memories" by David Guetta featuring rapper Kid Cudi – a Cleveland native – served as the soundtrack – and the riffs intertwine in rhythm with Clark's 3-pointers during shoot-around. A few minutes later during stretching, sophomore Jada Gyamfi confessed to Clark that she just learned this was where the Cleveland Cavaliers play home games – an encounter caught by KCCI's Shannon Ehrhardt.
Jada Gyamfi told Caitlin Clark during warmups,
— Shannon Ehrhardt (@SEhrhardtKCCI) April 4, 2024
"I had no idea the Cavaliers played here."
Caitlin, "Do you live under a rock."
Lollll I'm crying. C'mon @jada_gyamfi! @KCCINews @CaitlinClark22 #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/xwJR6IRqnc
"Do you live under a rock?" Clark asked in astonishment.
"OK, do you know every arena where every NBA team plays?" Gyamfi tried back.
Clark sat up and threw her hand in the air.
"Why else would we be here?"
They laughed together. That served as a reminder that Clark is still a 22-year-old college basketball player – one whose creativity on the court has captured the attention of the basketball universe.
"Oh, gosh."
That's the involuntary two-word response Clark used a few times during a 45-minute podium-and-breakout session Friday. It's a standard Midwestern colloquialism, but don't mistake it for "Aw, shucks."
Caitlin Clark in a media breakout session: “You always go out there and let your work show.” pic.twitter.com/CKnUWyOhOD
— Bill Bender (@BillBender92) April 4, 2024
Clark handled that lengthy question-and-answer session with the precision of a future No. 1 pick in the NFL, NBA, or in this case, WNBA. Yet it felt unscripted. When the standard question about her childhood idols came up, Jimmer Fredette's ears were burning.
"I have a vivid memory growing up of watching Jimmer mania," Clark said. "I just loved him. I had a shirt that said, 'Teach me how to Jimmer.'"
Clark continued the perfect off-beat-yet-authentic answer. She combined Maya Moore's jersey with Harrison Barnes' North Carolina shorts as a kid. Moore, of course, was a WNBA No. 1 pick who played for the Minnesota Lynx from 2011-18. Barnes was an Iowa preps phenom Ames High School who went to North Carolina and then the NBA. Clark has evolved into the best of both at Iowa.
Clark is averaging 9.4 assists per game in the tournament with a starting five that has created more opportunities for starters Kate Martin, Sydney Affolter, Gabbie Marshall and Hannah Stuelke – a tight-knight group that continues to enjoy the wave together.
"We talk about it all the time," Martin said. "When Caitlin's light shines; it shines on all of us. We are really lucky to get all the media attention because of what it's doing for the game. It's super special."
Stuelke scored 23 points in the victory against UConn on Friday, and sat at the podium while Clark expressed how "super happy" she was for her teammate who matched up with UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards.
"I think the confidence is everything," Stuelke said. "Especially hearing Caitlin Clark talk about me like that, it gives me a confidence boost. I think anyone would say that."
Clark and Stuelke exchanged glances and smiled. This is the Heartland's roster, one that stretches from Ohio to Colorado. Iowa is trying to break a Big Ten national championship drought that extends back to 1999. Clark is the centerpiece from Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, and that means something more.
"When you're a kid from the state of Iowa, the state is going to rally around you a little differently," Clark said. "That's something I'm forever thankful for."
Caitlin Clark sparks growth in women's game
The Elite Eight matchup between No. 1 Iowa and No. 3 LSU drew 12.3 million television viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen. It was the most-watched women's college basketball game of all time. Only five college football games – the Ohio State-Michigan game, SEC championship, CFP semifinals and CFP championship – had more viewership. CNN Business reported that ticket prices for the Women's Final Four semifinals averaged $726, which was slighty higher than on the men's side.
Clark is not just good for TV. She sounds like a next-level TV analyst.
"People always want to compare the ticket prices between the men and the women," Clark said. "That's not something that you can really compare when the men are playing inside of a football stadium and we're playing inside of a normal basketball stadium. It's hard to get tickets for your family when there aren't many tickets to come by."
Clark keeps the focus on the health of the women's game. She said parity and the increasing number of young stars contributed to the growth in those ratings, and that one player or one team no longer has to be the "end all, be all" for the sport. Clark also broke down this blockbuster Final Four with a view from the top down.
"Obviously South Carolina has been the No. 1 team all year," Clark said. "They deserve that. They've been incredible. The way the top 25 has changed week in and week out has been really good for our game. There was one week where 15 of 25 teams were upset. That's pretty incredible."
Now, the season is set up for an incredible finish – a rematch of last year's national semifinal. Clark had 41 points, eight assists and six rebounds in a 77-73 victory over the Gamecocks, and she might need to do more this time. Clark watched the Gamecocks beat No. 3 NC State 78-59 on Friday.
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"The way that they played tonight was incredible," Clark said. "But it's the national championship. It's the last game of my career. It's the last game for five people on this team. So I don't think motivation will be hard to come by."
The legacy questions will always follow Clark into the future. Will she be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft? Will Clark play for the USA Women's Basketball Olympic team this summer? How much pressure can this generational talent withstand?
New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart – a UConn legend who was at the USA Basketball workouts in Cleveland – added to that pressure in an interview with College Sports on SiriusXM on Friday. Stewart was part of a run from 2012-13 to 2015-16 where the Huskies were 151-4 and won four consecutive national championships. UConn also has four other teams in school history that had perfect seasons. Does Clark need a national title to be considered an all-time great?
"Yep, she does," Stewart told Sirius XM. "I think so, because you're going to look 10 years back, and you're going to see all the records she's broken and the points and stuff like. But anybody knows, your goal when you play college basketball is to win a national championship. So you need one."
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Does Clark feel that? She deferred to legendary trail-blazer Billie Jean King – whose hand-written quote "Pressure is a privilege" is framed on the Iowa locker-room wall.
"Whether you want to act like the pressure is there or not. It just is. That's the flat-out point. That's just something I've accepted," Clark said. "You go out there and let your work shine. It's never what-ifs in my head. It's always I know I'm ready for this moment, and win or lose that's what it was meant to be."
That did not stop a reporter from asking that question, "What are you proud of most?"
"Oh, gosh, that's a loaded question," Clark said before introspection. "I don't know. I mean, I think I'm most proud of just the way my career's evolved over the course of the last four years."
Clark does not believe fans will remember the point total. They might remember back-to-back Final Four appearances, and the championship games will always be reference points in her career, like they were all women's and men's college basketball legends. She hopes the next generation remembers those moments when she signed autographs alongside teammates before and after games.
"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.
