Caitlin Clark reacts to Dawn Staley's postgame praise after National Championship

For Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes, losing the National Championship for a second season in a row was a devastating blow. In particular, for Clark it was difficult to leave the court knowing she wouldn’t win a championship during her time in college.

Clark was in South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley‘s mind, though, as she celebrated her team’s win and she made a point of praising Clark in the postgame. That was something that Clark noticed and responded to while speaking to media members.

“I think any time someone like Coach Staley is able to recognize you and what you did for the game is obviously pretty special,” Caitlin Clark said. “Obviously she’s someone I respect so much. I respect what she’s done for South Carolina. I respect what she did as a player for our game. Any time you can get the praises of her is pretty special. So it means a lot.”

Dawn Staley has found tons of success, both as a player and as a coach. Caitlin Clark has found that success as a player and fans have noticed as she’s played a major role in growing the game. That was what Staley wanted to make sure she praised Clark for following the game.

“I really would just like to say that I have to congratulate Iowa on an incredible season. Awesome. Awesome. And I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport and it just is not going to stop here on the collegiate tour, but when she is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, she’s going to lift that league up as well,” Staley said.

“So Caitlin Clark, if you’re out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game,” Dawn Staley said. “We appreciate you.”

Caitlin Clark finished the National Championship Game with 30 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in a losing effort.

Caitlin Clark discusses how unique a place women’s basketball is in right now

Shortly after losing to South Carolina, Caitlin Clark shared her thoughts on where women’s basketball is right now.

“Yeah, I think the biggest thing is it’s really hard to win these things. I think I probably know that better than most people by now. To be so close twice, it definitely hurts but at the same time we were right there. We battled. We took down some really great teams to get back to this point. It’s something that’s really hard to do,” Clark said.

“When I think about women’s basketball going forward, obviously it’s just going to continue to grow, whether it’s at the WNBA level, whether it’s at the college level. Everybody sees it, everybody knows. Everybody sees the viewership numbers. When you’re given an opportunity women’s sports just kind of thrives, and I think that’s been the coolest part for me on this journey. You know, we start our season playing in front of 55,000 people in Kinnick Stadium. Now we’re ending it probably playing in front of 15 million people or more on TV. It just continues to get better and better and better. That’s never going to stop. When you continue to give them the platform, things like this are just going to continue to happen.”