South-Carolina
Iowa vs. South Carolina Women’s National Championship Game Smashes Records with 18.7M Viewers — and Caitlin Clark Is Pumped!
Caitlin Clark is taking the Iowa Hawkeyes’ women’s NCAA tournament championship game loss in stride.
A day after the Hawkeyes were defeated by the South Carolina Gamecocks 87-75, ESPN announced that it was the most-watched basketball game since 2019.
Citing data from Nielsen, the sports media company explained on Monday, April 8, that the game broke viewership records, averaging 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN.
“18.7 MILLION 🔥,” wrote Clark, 22, on X, formerly Twitter, after the announcement.
According to ESPN, “The only sporting events in the United States to draw a bigger TV audience since 2019 have been football, the World Cup, and the Olympics.”
Clark can also celebrate that she and her team played in the three most-watched women’s basketball games.
ESPN reported that the second most-watched women’s basketball game after Sunday’s game is Iowa’s 71-69 win against UConn on Friday, April 5, which averaged 14.2 million viewers. In third place is Iowa’s 94-87 win against the LSU Tigers on Monday, April 1, drawing in 12.3 million viewers.
Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty
After Sunday’s loss, Clark shared on X that “words cannot express my love for my teammates, coaches, fans and our university.”
“Thanks for making my dreams come true. Wearing Iowa across my chest the last four years has been an honor. This place will always be home,” her post continued.
She also received support from her boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, who wrote in an Instagram Stories post next to a photo of her leaving the court on Sunday, “My GOAT.”
Clark said goodbye to her collegiate jersey in an Instagram Stories post on Monday, writing on top of a photo of it on the floor next to a pair of sneakers, “I’ll miss ya.”
The athlete will step into the next phase of her career when the 2024 WNBA Draft takes place on Monday, April 15.
The sports star announced that she was entering the draft back in February, showing gratitude to her family and fans in a passionate post on X.
C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty
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“None of this would have been possible without my family and friends who have been by my side through it all. Because of you, my dreams cam true,” Clark wrote.