For the first time in 30 years, Iowa women's basketball is playing in the Final Four. Caitlin Clark is the main reason why.
The superstar guard has taken the college basketball world by storm since arriving in in Iowa City three years ago.
Her legend continued to grow on Sunday, when she almost singlehandedly carried her team to a win over Louisville in the Elite Eight with 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
TSN's WOMEN'S MARCH MADNESS HQ
Live bracket | TV schedule | Odds & Favorites
Sports icons like LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Billie Jean King have all taken to Twitter to shower Clark with praise.
Haha! But FR She's so COLD!!!!!!! SHEESH
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 27, 2023
I want to give a lot of love to superstar Caitlin Clark after she recorded 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in Iowa’s over win over Louisville! She’s the first player ever to record a 40-point triple-double in a men’s or women’s NCAA Tournament game. @caitlinclark22
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 28, 2023
.@CaitlinClark22 of @IowaWBB is the only women's or men's player in history with a 40-point triple-double in an #NCAA tournament game.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) March 28, 2023
She helped her team make the #FinalFour for the first time in 30 years.
Congratulations, Caitlin and Iowa Women's Basketball!#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/dunB39HBJC
So who is the Hawkeyes' star, and where is she from? Here's how the Iowa native has achieved celebrity status on the hardwood without having to leave her home state:
Where is Caitlin Clark from?
Clark was born and raised in West Des Moines, Iowa, about a two-hour drive from the University of Iowa campus.
She played her high school ball under head coach Kristin Meyer at Dowling Catholic in West Des Moines. She racked up numerous accolades during her time with the Maroons, leading the state in scoring two years in a row and being named Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and Iowa Miss Basketball for her senior season. She also won two gold medals for Team USA in the 2017 U16 FIBA Americas Tournament and 2019 U19 FIBA World Cup while she was still in high school.
MORE: When is Caitlin Clark eligible to enter NBA Draft?
In sixth grade, she began playing for an AAU team based in Ames, Iowa, home to Iowa State University. She played with the team for seven years, up until she graduated from high school in 2020. However, she decided to commit to Iowa for college rather than stay in Ames and play for Iowa State. She also turned down offers from Notre Dame and Texas to join the Hawkeyes.
"It's a big decision, so it's not one you want to mess up," she said of her commitment decision. "I think the main things about Iowa that I liked is one, doing something special that's never been done before, I think that was super important to me, and two, I'm really close with my family so I wanted to be close. I wanted to have them at all my games, not just my immediate family but my aunts, uncles, cousins."
Caitlin Clark college career
Her commitment changed the trajectory of the entire Iowa program. In her freshman season, she led NCAA Division I in scoring with 26.6 points per game in addition to 7.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game. She won the Dawn Staley Award for the nation's best guard and was named a second-team All-American by the AP. Iowa reached the Sweet 16, where it ultimately fell to UConn.
Her stellar career continued as a sophomore, when she improved slightly to finish with 27 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds per game. She was a unanimous first-team All-American and became the first player to win back-to-back Dawn Staley Awards. She also became the first person to lead the NCAA Division I in points and assists per game in the same season. However, the Hawkeyes were upset by Creighton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
As a junior, she has reached even more impressive heights, averaging a career-high 27.3 points and 8.6 assists per game. She helped power Iowa to its first Final Four in three decades thanks to a jaw-dropping 41-point triple-double against Louisville in the Elite Eight — the first in NCAA Tournament history (men's or women's).
“I can remember sitting in her living room and her saying, 'I want to go to a Final Four’ and I’m saying, 'We can do it together.’ And she believed me," head coach Lisa Bluder said after the win. “She was spectacular. I don’t know how else to describe what she does on the basketball court. A 40-point triple-double against Louisville to go to the Final Four? Are you kidding me? It’s mind boggling."
MORE: John Cena has perfect reaction to Caitlin Clark's 'You Can't See Me' taunt
Now, Clark and her teammates will prepare for their toughest test yet: a matchup against undefeated South Carolina with a trip to the national championship on the line. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET this Friday, March 31.