Caitlin Clark has been a single of the most talked about figures in sports this year, as the Iowa Hawkeyes guard has been on a tear. Her immense ability has transcended the activity, main to her inspiring millions of people today all over the world.
It wasn’t just Clark, even though. Players like South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, USC’s JuJu Watkins, and LSU’s Angel Reese have led to a massive uptick in viewership and focus for women’s basketball. When LSU and Iowa confronted off in the Ultimate Four, the game observed a history 12.3 million viewers, which beat out a great deal of experienced sporting activities, which include the Environment Collection and most of the NBA Finals.
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The moment Iowa and Clark took down LSU, the phase was set for them to experience UConn in the Last Four. This activity drew an even additional spectacular 14.2 million viewers and established up a rematch involving Iowa and South Carolina. Previous yr, Iowa and South Carolina faced off in the Remaining 4, and Clark and firm bought the much better of them, ruining their undefeated year.
This Countrywide Championship activity featured much of the identical. Iowa fought tooth and nail to get back again to the ultimate match. South Carolina was on a roll with an undefeated history. Nonetheless, Clark would not realize her objective of securing a nationwide title. The Gamecocks took down the Hawkeyes with a final score of 87-75.
The matchup belonged to the Gamecocks, but it showcased elite ability from players on equally teams. The consequence of that ability led to yet a further report-breaking viewership, which caught the attention of Clark herself.
18.7 MILLION 🔥
— Caitlin Clark (@CaitlinClark22) April 8, 2024
Her very simple X write-up reads “18.7 MILLION,” which is coupled with a fire emoji. While all people experienced been majorly impressed with the 12.3 million viewership for the prior game, the National Championship viewership blew that variety out of the h2o. Not only did the sport see 18.7 million viewers, it also topped out at 24.7 million.
This is an 89% increase from the 2023 title matchup. Clark has enormous star electricity — such as amongst her opponents, who served to provide an prompt classic of a match.
It can’t be denied that Clark has altered the game. Even South Carolina head mentor Dawn Staley took time out of celebrating her program’s significant gain to thank Clark for her contributions to the activity. Sadly, this will be the remaining time that she will step foot on the NCAA court.
Clark is slated for the WNBA Draft and is envisioned to go range-1 overall to the Indiana Fever. It is really very likely that her 1st video game at the skilled level may well also break some viewership documents. She is just that well-known and beloved of a athletics figure, and seeing her story unfold has been incredible.
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