Caitlin Clark raised her arms as she walked across the court, pumped her fists and made a heart with her hands as she bid farewell to her legion of adoring fans who came to see her play one last time at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Monday night.
The clock had just hit zeroes on No. 1 seed Iowa’s hard-earned 64-54 win over No. 8 West Virginia in the women’s NCAA Tournament, and she wanted to thank the fans.
“I’m forever grateful,” she said.
The Hawkeyes will head to Albany, New York, to continue their bid to reach the championship game for a second straight year. No matter what happens the rest of the way, Clark will be remembered as the most beloved, if not the greatest, athlete to come out of the state that also produced Dan Gable, Bob Feller and Nile Kinnick.
“I’m very grateful that I got to play in an environment that supports women’s athletics the way that they do, not only women’s basketball — and to be honest, they’ve been doing this before I ever stepped on campus,” Clark said. “Maybe it wasn’t quite at the magnitude it is now, but these people and these fans have showed up, and they’ll continue to show up.”
The NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader had 32 points on a night nothing came easily for her or her teammates. The Mountaineers’ physical defense tried to knock her off her game, and for stretches it succeeded. She had to have blood wiped off her leg in the fourth quarter.
Among those in attendance were Basketball Hall of Fame member Nancy Lieberman, known as “Lady Magic,” and San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle, who played for the Hawkeyes from 2013-16.
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark celebrates in the second half of a second-round college basketball game against West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament, Monday, March 25, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa won 64-54. Credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall
Clark’s parents were in the stands, as always. Brent, her dad, was a weekend social media fixture for his visible…
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