ESPN highlights Caitlin Clark as No. 1 player in women’s March Madness
ESPN delivered another reminder why Hawkeye fans need to truly soak up every last drop of Caitlin Clark in Iowa’s black and gold.
As the 6-foot superstar senior guard embarks upon her final NCAA Tournament, ESPN unveiled its list of the top 25 players in the 2024 women’s tournament.
Go figure. It’s a no-brainer with Clark holding down the No. 1 spot.
After a record-breaking regular season and third consecutive Big Ten tournament title, Clark will try to lead Iowa through a difficult NCAA tournament bracket. She had some 3-point shooting struggles in the Big Ten tournament that might have been caused in part by fatigue. The time off since the Big Ten final on March 10 should help. Clark knows Iowa will need her to be at superstar level for her final Big Dance. Last season, she scored a record 191 points in six NCAA games during Iowa’s march to the national championship game. – Michael Voepel, ESPN.
Clark at No. 1 is exactly how the list should read. It’s also in line with where ESPN has had Clark ranked among its top players all season long.
While it’s the obvious, correct choice, it’s another indication of how special these past several seasons have been and why Iowa fans will be savoring every moment of this 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Clark enters the tournament sporting averages of 31.9 points and 8.9 assists per game. Both of those marks lead the country. Clark is shooting 46.0% from the field, 38.1% from 3-point range and 85.8% from the free throw line.
The rest of ESPN’s top 10 players in the tournament look like this: USC‘s JuJu Watkins at No. 2, Stanford’s Cameron Brink at No. 3, UConn’s Paige Bueckers at No. 4, Notre Dame‘s Hannah Hidalgo at No. 5, Tennessee‘s Rickea Jackson at No. 6, Virginia Tech’s Georgia Amoore at No. 7, UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards at No. 8, Texas‘ Madison Booker at No. 9 and LSU‘s Angel Reese at No. 10.
Iowa begins its NCAA Tournament run on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ABC versus No. 16 seed Holy Cross.
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