Caitlin Clark’s historic career for Iowa women’s basketball has come to a crushing end as the Hawkeyes lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2024 national championship game.
The Iowa superstar came up just short of leading the Hawkeyes to a national championship as she so desperately wanted. It’s the second straight season Iowa lost in the national final. Last year, the team lost to the LSU Tigers.
There were no visible tears on the face of Caitlin Clark as she spoke with reporters following the contest. She tried to look on the bright side of what undoubtedly was a stinging defeat.
“I think for me, the emotions will probably hit me over the next couple days,” Clark told reporters, per the Big Ten Network. “I don’t have much time to sit around and sulk and be upset. I don’t think that’s what I’m about, either. Yeah, I’m sad we lost this game, but I’m also so proud of myself, I’m so proud of my teammates, I’m so proud of this program. There’s a lot to be proud of.
“There’s going to be tears. It is sad that this is all over and this is the last time I’m going to put on an Iowa jersey. So, I think just reflecting back and soaking in everything I was able to do because basically anybody other than me and coach (Lisa) Bluder never thought this was possible.”
Caitlin Clark tried her hardest to go out on top as she poured in a game-high 30 points on 10-for-28 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and five steals. However, South Carolina proved to be too much across the board as they finished the year with a 38-0 record.
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The biggest difference in the game was the Gamecocks’ bench outscoring Iowa’s reserves, 37-0.
“South Carolina is just so good,” Clark said. “There’s only so much you can do. Cardoso has 17 rebounds. They have 51 as a team. We have 29. Hard to win a basketball game like that. You basically got to shoot perfect at that point. I’m just proud of our group. We never backed down and we gave it everything we got.”
Caitlin Clark Is Still An All-Time College Basketball Player Despite Never Winning the National Championship
Even without a title, Clark is absolutely one of the greatest players of all time. Despite the glaring missed championship, Clark is a two-time unanimous national player of the year, holds the NCAA Division I all-time scoring record, and both the NCAA tournament 3-point and scoring career record, among many others.
Those records can never be taken from her unless somebody shatters them years from now.
Clark is now on to the next chapter of her career. She is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft on April 15th.
