Caitlin Clark took a big step in her career less than a week after Iowa lost to South Carolina in the national championship game.
No, she wasn't selected by the Indiana Fever yet. That won't happen until Monday's WNBA Draft.
Instead, Clark appeared on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" for the first time.
Clark appeared as herself during the comedy program's long-running "Weekend Update" segment, cohosted by Michael Che and Colin Jost. She came on to provide an analysis of Che's consistent, disparaging jokes about women's sports and fired back with her own jokes about Che.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Che knew Clark was appearing on the program. He seemed surprised when she appeared on set as he was cracking a joke about her number retirement.
Either way, Clark's performance was well-received, with her initial appearance eliciting a roar from the crowd and several of her jokes drawing laughs and applause.
Here's what to know about Clark's brief "SNL" performance ahead of the WNBA Draft.
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Caitlin Clark SNL Weekend Update skit
Clark's appearance on SNL occurred after Che delivered a joke about the basketball star's impending jersey retirement at Iowa.
"The University of Iowa announced that basketball star Caitlin Clark will have her jersey retired and replaced with an apron," Che quipped.
The crowd gave Che's joke a loud groan as he looked to his left and noticed Clark for the first time. He introduced her with a tail-between-his-legs tone before telling Clark he was "a fan."
"Really, Michael?" Clark replied. "Because I heard that little apron joke you did."
Che said that he was "just having fun," prompting a response from Clark.
"You make a lot of jokes about women's sports, don't you Michael?" Clark asked.
Che began to defend himself before Jost jumped in to say that he had a supercut of Che's recent jokes about women's sports. SNL proceeded to play highlights of Che's recent jokes, including one about the Iowa vs. UConn Final Four game.
Iowa's Final Four game against UConn was the most-watched women's college basketball game ever with 14.2 million viewers, beating the previous record by 14.2 million.
Che tried to deflect attention away from his missteps by complimenting Clark's basketball skills.
"I can't play like you do," Che said.
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Clark thanked him for that compliment and noted that she couldn't deliver jokes like Che, but she had one request.
"I did write some jokes," Clark said, "and it would mean a lot to me if you read some of them."
Che then read three jokes where he was the punch-line. The best of the bunch was WNBA-themed.
"The Indiana Fever have the first pick in this Monday's draft," Che read. "A reminder that Indiana Fever is a WNBA team and not what Michael Che gave to dozens of women at Purdue University."
Clark thanked Che for reading the jokes and the comedian wished her luck during her first WNBA season.
Clark then closed her four-minute appearance by thanking the WNBA legends that came before her — including Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, Dawn Staley, and Maya Moore — and presented Che with a parting gift.
"Michael, since you're such a big fan, I brought you a souvenir," Clark said. "It's an apron signed by me."
That put an end to Clark's first SNL appearance. Based on its reception, it seems unlikely to be her last.
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Watch Caitlin Clark on SNL video
Those looking to watch Clark's entire segment on SNL can check out the video below, courtesy of "Saturday Night Live."
