The Iowa Hawkeyes ultimately fell short in NCAA Championship Game. However, college basketball’s AP National Player of the Year, Caitlin Clark, had a tournament for the record books. Clark led Iowa to their first national championship appearance in thrilling fashion. As we take a look back at Caitlin Clark’s NCAA tournament in 10 photos, we’ll first revisit where she came from.
#22 is Junior at the University of Iowa, and was a unanimous name on the AP All-American list before the regular season began. Clark is an Iowa native. She was born January 22, 2002 in Des Moines and grew up in Wes Des Moines. She says she started to play basketball at five-years-old and quickly found her way to prominent spots within local AAU programs.
Making Iowa Proud
Clark then played all four high school years on the varsity basketball team. She often credits her development to constantly playing with older kids growing up. For Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Clark won the Gatorade Player of the Year and All-State honors. She was selected to play for the University of Iowa over other top-ranked programs like Notre Dame, in part because she was a fast-paced scoring point guard.
As a freshman for the Hawkeyes, Clark made an immediate impact. Her ability to move the ball around resulted in many assists and points. This past season, it finally paid off with a Big Ten Championship win over Ohio State.
There was certainly momentum for Iowa coming into the NCAA tournament this year. As an All-American, Clark put on a scoring display this past month, leading Iowa their first Final Four appearance since 1993. She took the nation by storm with 40 point, triple-double games and her big-game personality.
A Legendary Performance
This NCAA 2023 tournament has been great for women’s basketball. Clark consistently put on a show, demonstrating grit and maximum effort, leaving it all on the court.
To honor what was an incredible run, we’ll look back at Caitlin Clark’s NCAA tournament in 10 photos.
