Caitlin Clark addresses how popular Iowa women's basketball is nationally
Iowa women’s basketball is one of the hottest teams in college sports at the moment, fueled by one of the sports premier stars, Caitlin Clark. Wherever the Hawkeyes go, a packed arena seems to await.
Clark isn’t taking that for granted at all, trying to drink in the moments both at home and on the road. And she wants to give the crowds a worthwhile show for their time.
“I never take any moment for granted, no matter where we’re playing at, whether it’s at home or whether it’s on the road, all the people that want to come see us,” Clark said. “And a lot of people spend a lot of time and money to be able to come and watch our team play for two hours. So, we always want to go out there and it give it your best, give them a little show, give them something to smile about, make it fun, because it’s probably a memory people are going to remember for the rest of their lives.”
And the popularity isn’t just limited to in-person audiences. A recent Iowa game drew an average of nearly two million viewers, making it the most watched regular season women’s basketball game since 2010.
As the Hawkeyes keep rolling and Clark keeps starring, the hype is not likely to die down any time soon as the national runners up from a year ago chase a shot at redemptions.
“It’s just really cool,” Clark said.
Iowa needed a turnaround to win on Saturday
It looked like it was going to be an interesting day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as Nebraska kept pace with Iowa through the first half. The Hawkeyes held a five-point lead at the break as the offense struggled to find a rhythm and the Cornhuskers kept pace.
Things turned around in a big way after halftime, though. Clark had 28 points in the final two quarters as Iowa kicked it into gear en route to the 92-73 victory. Clark had 38 points on the day and now finds herself just four points away from catching Jackie Stiles for third on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list.
As for what changed after halftime, Clark said it started on the defensive end and the emotions followed suit.
“I think just our intensity,” Clark told Big Ten Network’s Brenda VanLengen. “We played harder on defense, played with more emotion, played with more pride, celebrating our teammates, moved the ball better. Our offense in the first half, we were just stagnant, didn’t move the ball well. Got our transition offense going, so just a lot better in the second half for us.”
Iowa had a rough go in multiple facets during the first half against Nebraska. The Hawkeyes shot 44.8% from the field, but just 3-for-13 from three-point distance and got outrebounded 23-16. The Cornhuskers turned eight offensive rebounds into nine second-chance points, which helped them stick with Iowa heading into the break.