Why the Final Four Is Personal for Iowa College Hoops Star Caitlin Clark
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University of Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark already stands alone as the greatest scorer in NCAA Division I history—for both men’s and women’s basketball. Now, her focus is on winning an elusive national championship.
For the second straight year, Clark—who, earlier this season, passed “Pistol Pete” Maravich for most career points in D-1 hoops—has led the Hawkeyes to the Final Four of the NCAA women’s tournament. The star guard and her team face perennial power Connecticut and its top player, Paige Bueckers, on Friday with a trip to the championship game on the line.
Clark, a 22-year-old senior, rose to national prominence last year with a record-setting March Madness performance. She became the first player to record a triple-double with 40 or more points in tournament history, men’s or women’s, and led Iowa to the national championship game against LSU.
That momentum carried over into 2024, as Clark passed current WNBA player Kelsey Plum and Maravich on their respective scoring lists and now has 3,900 career points. That includes 41 points in Iowa’s most recent game, a 94-87 Elite Eight victory in a heated rematch with LSU.
This year’s March Madness tournament will be the last for Clark. On February 29, she declared for the upcoming WNBA draft and became the presumptive favorite to join the Indiana Fever as the first overall selection. Here’s everything you need to know about Clark’s career as a hoops phenom, as well as her highly-anticipated college finale.
Early Life and High School Career
Clark was born January 22, 2002, and grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa. She is the daughter of Brent Clark and Anne Nizzi-Clark and has two brothers, Blake and Colin. Her father played baseball and basketball at Simpson College, while Blake is a reserve quarterback and the holder for the Iowa State football team.
According to Inside the Hawkeyes, Clark grew up playing sports with her brothers in their backyard. Because of limited opportunities for girl basketball players, she played on an all-boys team in elementary school.
Clark tried many different activities—including volleyball, soccer, softball, tennis, and piano—but fully committed to basketball around sixth grade, according to Hawk Central. She joined the All Iowa Attack travel program, a powerhouse that produced at least six NCAA Division I recruits in the high school class of 2023, and continued to excel.
She played against high school seniors in eighth grade and was one of the top basketball prospects in the country by her sophomore year at Dowling Catholic High School. Clark was the Gatorade Iowa Player of the Year her junior and senior seasons and became a two-time MaxPreps and USA Today All-America selection. She also won a gold medal with the United States U19 national team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019.
ESPN ranked Clark as the No. 4 recruit in the class of 2020, and she committed to Iowa on November 12, 2019, over Notre Dame and Iowa State.
Early Career at Iowa
As a freshman at Iowa in 2020-21, Clark picked up right where she left off in high school—starting 30 games and leading the country in points scored, total assists, 3-pointers, and total field goals. She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first team all-conference, in addition to second team All-America by the Associated Press.
Her sophomore season, Clark became the first NCAA women’s player to lead Division I in points and assists per game with 27 and eight, respectively. She was a finalist for the Naismith Women’s Player of the Year, given annually to the top player in the country, but lost to South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston.
Clark also recorded back-to-back triple doubles with 30 points, something only NBA greats Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Luka Dončić, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had accomplished since 2000.
But success in the NCAA tournament eluded Clark and Iowa. The Hawkeyes reached the Sweet 16 in 2021 before falling to perennial title contender Connecticut. Then in 2022, the Hawkeyes were among the favorites as a No. 2 seed but shockingly lost to 10th seed Creighton in the second round. Clark had a miserable game as the Jays constantly rotated defenders; she made only four of her 19 shots and scored 15 points.
The following year would turn out much better for Clark and Iowa.
Clark’s Record-Breaking 2023 Tournament
Clark averaged a double-double with 26 points and almost 11 rebounds per game over the Hawkeyes’ first three NCAA tournament wins in 2023, but saved a record-setting performance for the Elite Eight game against Louisville on March 26. She had 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists—a stat line Iowa coach Lisa Bluder called “mind-boggling”—in Iowa’s 97-83 win.
Clark’s 41 points were the most of any NCAA tournament triple-double and second-most of any triple-double in women’s Division I history. LSU’s Cornelia Gayden had 43 on January 2, 1995, according to ESPN. The record-setting performance also made Clark the first Division I men’s or women’s college basketball player to pile up 900 points and 300 assists in a single season.
“When I came here, I said I wanted to take this program to the Final Four, and all you’ve got to do is dream,” Clark said after the win over Louisville, according to CNN. “And all you’ve got to do is believe and work your butt off to get there.”
The then-junior also went viral for directing John Cena’s famous “you can’t see me” gesture toward Louisville player Hailey Van Lith during the game, earning a shoutout from the actor and WWE superstar. Don’t worry—the two are friends from their time with the Team USA U19 program in 2019, so the smack talk was likely all in good fun.
The second-seeded Hawkeyes beat No. 1 South Carolina in the Final Four to reach the national championship game, but they ultimately fell, 102-85, to LSU and its star player Angel Reese. Clark led all scorers with 30 points.
Clark Has History with Connecticut
Iowa hasn’t lost a step in 2024, taking a 33-4 record into Friday’s showdown with Connecticut as a No. 1 tournament seed. The Hawkeyes have topped Holy Cross, West Virginia, Colorado, and LSU to reach the semifinals.
If being in the Final Four isn’t enough motivation for Clark, she and her opponent have history dating back to her recruitment period. Clark has said UConn, the 11-time national champion, was her dream school and even called it “the coolest place on Earth.” However, Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma never spoke with Clark or her family during the recruitment process, and she ultimately landed at Iowa.
Then there’s the fact that the Huskies eliminated Clark and the Hawkeyes from the tournament in 2021.
So, naturally, a reporter asked Auriemma about facing Clark again. “Yeah, I hope Caitlin Clark had a personal agenda against LSU,” Auriemma jokingly responded, referencing her Elite Eight win. “I know there’s nothing personal between me and her. I don’t need to be seeing her drop 50 on us next weekend. I love her. I think she’s the best player. Forget I ever said Paige [Bueckers] is the best player in the country.”
How to Watch the 2024 Final Four
The women’s Final Four tips off at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, with South Carolina battling North Carolina State at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. Clark and Iowa take the court against UConn after that game, with a scheduled start time of 9:30 p.m. ESPN will televise both games.
The two winners will play for the title at 3 p.m. Sunday on ABC.
Clark is “ready for the next chapter”
Clark, a fourth-year senior, had an extra year of eligibility remaining at Iowa because of the COVID-19 pandemic but ultimately announced on February 29 she will join the pro ranks and declare for the WNBA, instead. “I knew in my heart here that what we’ve been able to do [at Iowa] is so special, and that it’s not over yet, but I think I’m ready for the next chapter in my life, too,” she told IndyStar.com.
It is a near-guarantee that Clark will be the top draft pick and play for the Indiana Fever, and her decision is already creating buzz for next season. Pacers Sports and Entertainment, which operates the WNBA franchise, told the Associated Press that Clark has created “a lot of enthusiasm online and on social media” and, more importantly, a spike in ticket sales.
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