Caitlin Clark, the highest-scoring player in NCAA history, could not stop her team, the Iowa Hawkeyes, losing 87-75 in the championship game on Sunday against the South Carolina Gamecocks; Clark has already declared for the WNBA draft and should be the top pick overall
Sunday 7 April 2024 22:44, UK
Caitlin Clark’s historic college basketball career ended in defeat as the Iowa Hawkeyes lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the championship game.
Clark will still go down as one of the greatest players in NCAA history. She rewrote the record book at Iowa, finishing as the leading scorer in NCAA Division I history with 3,951 career points.
Though she may have fallen short in two NCAA championship games, her legacy should still be defined by the millions of new fans she helped bring into the game.
Clark has already declared for the WNBA draft and is expected to be the top overall pick by the Indiana Fever.
There was however to be no fairytale finish to her college basketball career.
Instead South Carolina completed a perfect season with an 87-75 win over Iowa in the NCAA championship game on Sunday.
They became the 10th Division I team to go through a season without a loss, and they accomplished the feat after they lost all five starters from last season's team that lost to Clark's squad in the national semi-finals.
Clark endeavoured to lead the Hawkeyes to their first championship. She scored 30 points, including a championship-record 18 in the first quarter.
Clark has tried to take her blossoming stardom in stride, frequently deflecting much of the attention to her Iowa team-mates and a sport that is having a moment.
She always had the full attention of opposing coaches though, and South Carolina's depth proved to be too much in front of a packed Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
It wasn't for lack of trying. It never is with Clark.
She came out firing as the Hawkeyes built a quick 27-20 lead. The Gamecocks used multiple defenders to try to keep up with Clark. It didn't seem to matter. She knocked down three 3-pointers in the opening 10 minutes, including a rainbow over 6-foot-7 South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso.
South Carolina, however, recovered to capture its second championship in three years.
Clark checked out with 20 seconds remaining, earning a hug from coach Lisa Bluder while the crowd gave her a lengthy standing ovation.
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