IOWA CITY, Iowa ā Caitlin Clark knew with Iowa's final regular-season home game looming, it was time to make her decision about whether to enter the WNBA draft or stay in college for a fifth season.
Thatās why Clark announced on Thursday that she would go to the WNBA at the end of the season, following four historic seasons with the Hawkeyes. The announcement came three days before the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes host No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday afternoon.
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āI think just going into Senior Night, having that decision clear not only for myself, but our fans, my teammates. I think that was super important,ā Clark said Friday. āAnd honestly, just getting the weight of the world off my shoulders and being able to enjoy this last month with my teammates, I think is the biggest thing.ā
Clark is nearing the end of a record-setting career with the Hawkeyes. She passed Kelsey Plum as the NCAA career scoring leader on Feb. 15, then passed Lynette Woodard as the career scoring leader in major college womenās basketball in Wednesdayās game against Minnesota. Clark, who has 3,650 career points, is closing in on Pete Maravichās NCAA career scoring record of 3,667 points.
Clark had an additional year of eligibility that the NCAA granted to all players who played during the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020-21 season.
āI would say, like, Iāve gone honestly back and forth a little bit, especially early in the year,ā Clark said. āI think as the season played out, it became more clear to me. I know I said at the beginning of the year I definitely just kind of feel in my gut and know in my gut. And I think thatās exactly what happened.ā
Clark said she has known āfor a little whileā what she planned to do, adding that the coaching staff has been supportive as she made her decision.
āI mean, youāre obviously disappointed because you want her to come back. Right?ā Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. āI mean, sheās a tremendous player, and we would have loved to have had her come back. But also, our job is to help them for four years and to support them as best as we can and try to prepare them for the next chapter in their lives. Her four years are up, even though she could come back for another year. Sheās ready for a new challenge.ā
The Indiana Fever have the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft. Clark said she had not spoken with anyone from the Fever since she made her announcement.
The game Sunday at Iowaās Carver-Hawkeye Arena is a sellout. A pair of courtside tickets were listed at $3,800 on StubHub on Friday morning.
Clark, the reigning national player of the year, led the Hawkeyes to the national championship game last season before losing to LSU. The entire home season featured sellout crowds, and few tickets, if any, were available for road games.
āWeāve said this before, but when Caitlinās light shines, it shines on all of us,ā forward Kate Martin said. āWhat Caitlin is doing individually impacts our entire team, our entire program, our entire state, the entire country. And thatās really cool. We want the best for Caitlin, weāve always had that in mind. We want her to win all of the awards. We truly, genuinely, are very happy for her.ā
Bluder said she thought Clark has been more at ease since she made her decision.
āEveryone was worried about the record, like, āOh, sheās stressed out about the record,'ā Bluder said, referring to Clark's pursuit of Plum's scoring mark. āShe was never stressed out about the record. She was stressed out about making this decision.ā
That stress is behind Clark now.
āI think any time you make a big decision and youāre confident in it, thatās just kind of what happens,ā Clark said. āAnd I think thatās my biggest focus going into the rest of the year. Itās just smile, have fun, play free. After this game this weekend, weāre really only guaranteed two games. So I think it's just enjoying every single second and playing and having fun.ā
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AP womenās college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball