The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team had a successful season largely due to their star player, Caitliln Clark. However, the 2023 Iowa Hawkeyes fell short to the LSU Tigers in the NCAA women’s March Madness bracket.  Clark is a junior point guard who was raised in Iowa, and plans on staying in her hometown to inspire young players who want to be just like her.  

The Hawkeyes’ final game was seen by nearly 10 million viewers, many watching for the basketball prodigy who dominated this season.  Clark earned the AP Player of the Year honors, USBWA Player of the Year, the Naismith Player of the Year, All- American, and was given the Wooden Award.  

This season, fans were fascinated by Clark, from little kids wearing her jersey to being recognized by Lebron James, she is the future of women’s basketball.  

Fans are calling her skills the Caitlin Clark Effect, and her talent could not have been seen at a more perfect time.  In general, women’s sports are often underappreciated, and female athletes have been shown a lack of support and respect for all of their hard work.  Clark is going against this trend and setting a powerful impact for women’s sports now and in the future.  

Clark helped raise a record breaking 9.9 million views on the final game, highlighting more viewers than the most recent MLB, NBA, and  NFL games, as well as any women’s CBB game ever.  She is promoting women in sports in a positive way, and people are admiring her hard work and dedication.  

Women’s basketball is becoming more recognized throughout the world, because of her.

Clark is expected to be one of the top picks when she is eligible for the 2024 WNBA draft, but is unsure how much longer she wants to play at the University of Iowa.  She has two more years of eligibility at Iowa because of the Covid 19 pandemic, but admitted in February she is considering playing all five years.  

In an interview after the NCAA championship she said through tears, “I want my legacy to be the impact on young kids and the people in the state of Iowa.  I hope I brought them a lot of joy this season.”