Caitlin Clark. Remember her name because it will be the revolution of women’s basketball in the future. The 1.83-meter point guard, born in West Des Moins, Iowa, broke this Sunday the record for points scored in a single edition of march madness female with 191. Gone are Sheryl Swoopes’ 175 in 1993.
It was a bittersweet feat, sad because his 30 goals with an 8 of 19 from the triple (some incredible and impossible, which Stephen Curry himself would sign) did not serve to give Iowa hawkeyes his first title in the big tournament in his second ever participation in a final. The final victory fell to LSU Tigers (85-102), who before the break lived off a Jasmine Carson who went from not scoring a single point in the two previous rounds, to shooting at 21 with 5 triples without a miss in a first part that closed with a +17 (42-59 ) for the new champions. Alexis Morris (21) and LaDazhia Williams (20) also did a great job helping Louisiana to win the first national championship in its history.
But let’s go back to Clark, an ultra-media player aiming for number 1 in the 2024 draft within a class called to change the course of women’s basketball: Paige Bueckers, Hailey Van Lith, Olivia Cochran… and an Angel Reese with whom he faced this Sunday at the American Airlines Centerthe majestic Dallas Mavericks pavilion, full to bursting in its more than 19,000 locations, and who had 15 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals… And who tried to provoke Clark: with the duel over, he made the gesture of you can not see me passing her hand over her face (a gesture Caitlin made before Louisville… although not directly to anyone) and then pointing to her finger where she will put her champion ring. So young and already looking for a fight. Bit strange. A bit absurd at the dawn of her career.
Capable of shooting fantasy, the one from Iowa, heavily weighed down in the final due to fouls, closes his third season with the Hawkeyes with 27 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists. And the march madness with 31.8 points, 10 catches and 5.2 basket passes. He averaged 42.7% from the perimeter on a 32/75 shooting. In the last four games of the championship he scored 30 or more points, and in the Elite 8 and in the semifinals he reached 41 with 8/14 and 5/17 from three, respectively. “You are a generational player”assured Kim Mulkey, the coach of the Tigers after closing the game, in which despite the defeat the base is crowned as the future empress of the WNBA.