Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark has South Carolina women’s head basketball coach Dawn Staley’s respect.
Staley secured her third National Championship at South Carolina with an 87-75 win over Clark and the Hawkeyes.
Following the game, an emotional Staley delivered a classy message to Clark as she celebrated with her team on the podium.
“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport… She’s gonna lift that league [WNBA] up… You are one of the GOATs of our game and we appreciate you.”
While Clark has not captured a National Championship during her time with the Hawkeyes, NCAA basketball’s all-time career scoring leader as brought the women’s game to new heights.
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Iowa and UConn’s Final Four matchup broke records in terms of television ratings.
Clark is going to head off to the WNBA now and will likely be the first overall selection in the upcoming WNBA draft.
As for Staley, she previously captured titles in 2017 and 2022 with the Gamecocks, and was happy to avenge their loss in last year’s Final Four to the Iowa.
A six-time WNBA All-Star, Staley completed an undefeated season for South Carolina at 38-0 which was the first since 2015-16 when the UConn Huskies finished their season a perfect 38-0.
