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AOTM

Claressa Shields beats Danielle Perkins to become boxing’s first undisputed women’s heavyweight champion

February 4, 2025 by Tara S

darshan desai | Yahoo Sports

Claressa Shields made history in her hometown of Flint.

The “GWOAT” defeated Danielle Perkins by unanimous decision to become boxing’s first-ever women’s undisputed heavyweight champion. She also earned the accolade of being the only three-division undisputed champion, male or female, of the four-belt era.

FLINT, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 02: Claressa Shields arrives for her undisputed heavyweight title bout against Danielle Perkins on February 02, 2025 at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Claressa Shields captured the undisputed heavyweight title with a win over Danielle Perkins on Saturday at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

Shields (16-0, 3 KOs) is known for her strong jab, but that was nonexistent on Sunday night at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. She explained in her post-fight interview that she was unable to use her jab because she tore a labrum in her left shoulder just nine days prior to fight night.

Shields, Uncrowned’s No. 1 pound-for-pound women’s boxer in the world, instead focused her efforts on landing the straight right hand and overhand right on the southpaw Perkins, which she did consistently throughout the fight. She hurt Perkins for the first time in Round 3 with an overhand right and almost secured an early knockout, but Perkins managed to stand up to the assault that followed.

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In Round 7, a straight right hand buzzed Perkins heavily, and Shields once again looked for a finish that didn’t come. To her credit, Perkins became more aggressive in the final three rounds, looking to get her own work off on Shields.

With around 10 seconds to go in the 10th and final round, Perkins threw a slow left hand, which Shields slipped and countered with a sharp right, flooring Perkins. There wasn’t any time left for Shields to look for the finish as the final bell rang just after the referee signaled for the action to resume.

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Shields was awarded every round on one scorecard, 100-89, nine rounds on a second scorecard, 99-90, and seven rounds on the third card, 97-92. She said in her post-fight interview that she wished to box two more times in 2025, naming a list of potential opponents, which included Franchon Crews-Dezurn, Hanna Gabriels, Savannah Marshall, MMA legend Cris Cyborg and retired trailblazer Laila Ali.

Check out full results, highlights and play-by-play of the Shields-vs.-Perkins fight card below.

More from Uncrowned

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Main Card

Undisputed heavyweight title: Claressa Shields def. Danielle Perkins via unanimous decision (100-89, 97-92, 99-90)

Heavyweight: Brandon Moore def. Skylar Lacy via 8th-round DQ | Watch video

Super welterweight: Joseph Hicks Jr. def. Keon Papillion via 7th-round TKO | Watch video

Super lightweight: Joshua Pagan def. Ronal Ron via unanimous decision (79-73, 78-74, 78-74)

Super featherweight: Caroline Veyre def. Carmen Vargas via unanimous decision (80-72, 80-72, 80-72)

Super bantamweight: Ashleyann Lozada def. Denise Moran via unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Boxing, Martial Arts, Women's Sports Tagged With: Claressa Shields

Nelly Korda Kicks Off 2025 LPGA Run with 2nd Place Tour of Champions Finish

February 4, 2025 by Tara S

US golf star Nelly Korda came out swinging this weekend, taking second place at the Tournament of Champions to launch her 2025 LPGA campaign.

The world No. 1 narrowly fell to tournament winner No. 35 A Lim Kim, with the South Korean standout picking up her third career LPGA win and her second since November 2024. Her 20-under-par result also marked her second straight win in which she never trailed at the end of any round.

Korda pulled within one stroke of Kim on the back nine, before the eventual champion surged ahead with three birdies in her last four holes. With her 7-under Sunday performance, Korda finished the tournament at an impressive 18-under.

The result marked Korda’s fifth-straight Top 5 finish, a streak that dates back to last August’s AIG Women’s Open.

“This is what I love about golf — being in the hunt on a Sunday going down the back nine,” an upbeat Korda told reporters after her final round. “I’m never going to complain finishing second in a tournament and giving it a run… There are definitely a couple putts I would like to have back, but overall I think I’m very happy with this week and excited for next week.”

Nelly Korda lines up a putt at the 2025 LPGA Tournament of Champions.
Korda is eyeing another top finish on her home course next weekend. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Next up: Korda’s home course advantage

The LPGA next lands in Korda’s hometown of Bradenton, Florida, for the Founders Cup, which tees off on Thursday.

That home course advantage, as well as the fact that Korda won the Drive On Championship on those links last season, makes her the tournament’s unofficial favorite this year.

Fellow US star and world No. 14 Rose Zhang is the Founders Cup’s defending champion, with her win snapping Korda’s historic five-tournament win streak last year. That said, the 2024 edition took place at New Jersey’s Upper Montclair Country Club, so the Florida relocation removes the course familiarity that would normally give the reigning title-holder an assumed edge.

Korda’s preparation for the upcoming competition will be intentionally light, as she doesn’t normally practice during tournament weeks.

“Definitely some areas where I feel like I need to kind of tighten up some loose ends,” Korda said on Sunday. “Overall, I think I can’t complain about the state of my golf game right now.”

Unlike her jam-packed season start last year, this week’s even will be Korda’s last before a seven-week pause. She has opted out of three upcoming tournaments — the Honda LPGA Thailand, the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore, or the Blue Bay LPGA in China.

Korda will instead return to play at the end of March, when the Ford Championship tees off in Chandler, Arizona.

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Golf, Women's Golf Tagged With: Nelly Korda

Clark and Ledecky lead charge of women’s sports in Indy

June 18, 2024 by Tara S

INDIANAPOLIS – Anyone looking for proof of the meteoric rise of women’s sport need look no further than downtown Indianapolis this weekend where within a five block radius fans turned out in their droves to witness the brilliance of Katie Ledecky and Caitlin Clark.

Seven-times Olympic gold medallist Ledecky qualified for her fourth Games under the lights of Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday in front of an adoring crowd of 20,689, a record number for a swim meet.

Less than 24 hours later, Clark thrilled a sold-out arena of 17,274 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as the WNBA’s Indiana Fever beat the visiting Chicago Sky 91-83.

“It just shows that when given the opportunity, women’s sports are amazingly fun to watch and only on the rise,” Clark told reporters after scoring 23 points in the hard-fought win.

“People are finally starting to realise how great of a product it is,” she said.

“Once they come and watch one time they can’t get enough and they continue to come back.

“To be a small part of that is super fun and to play in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,000 people, that’s not something you ever take for granted.”

Clark was on the receiving end of a hard foul from rival Angel Reese during the contest but said that is just the way it goes when elite athletes battle head-to-head.

“People love to see the emotion and the passion that we play with,” she said.

“I think that was something that was maybe not appreciated in women’s sports and it should be. That’s what makes it fun.”

Ledecky said she was having more fun than ever after punching her ticket to the Paris Games with a triumph in the 400 metres freestyle.

The 27-year-old was by far the biggest attraction on the opening night of the U.S. Olympic Trials, which for the first time are being held inside an NFL stadium with the atmosphere of a rock concert.

“I was blown away walking out there and seeing all the fans,” Ledecky said.

“I hope it moves our sport forward. I hope there are some young swimmers out there that get excited about today.”

Clark’s team mate Aliyah Boston said she is proud to be part of a movement that is inspiring the next generation.

“Younger girls now have so many more athletes to look up to and say I want to be like her, I want to be an Olympian just like her,” Boston said.

“To be a part of that is amazing. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” REUTERS

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Women's Sports Tagged With: Caitlin Clark, Katie Ledecky

NELLY KORDA CONTINUES UNPRECEDENTED LPGA RUN

May 22, 2024 by Tara S

by: Emma Hruby | Just Women’s Sports

Nelly Korda continued her unprecedented LPGA run on Sunday, winning her sixth tournament in the last seven starts. 

The 25-year-old Florida native took home the title at the Mizuho Americas Open, becoming the first LPGA player to record six wins in a single season since 2013 — and that’s with three majors and a little over half the season left to play.

“Oh, my gosh, six,” Korda said after the win. “I can’t even really gather myself right now with that, the head-to-head that Hannah and I had pretty much all day. Wasn’t my best stuff out there today, but fought really hard on the back nine.”

Korda is just the fourth player on tour to win six times before June 1st, joining LPGA Hall of Famers Babe Zaharias (1951), Louise Suggs (1953), and Lorena Ochoa (2008).

Should her victory run continue, Korda could break the current record for single-season wins, currently set at 13 by Mickey Wright in 1963.

Korda ended Sunday’s tournament one shot ahead of Hannah Green, finishing the 18th with a par putt to win it all.

“I mean, to lose to Nelly kind of like is — it’s sad, but then it’s also Nelly Korda,” Green said of her second-place finish. “You know, like she’s obviously so dominant right now. To feel like second behind her is quite nice. Unfortunately the bogey on the last has a little bit of a sour taste.”

Next up is the US Women’s Open, a tournament that Korda has yet to win in her career. 

“Obviously it’s on the top of my priority list,” she said. “I just know there is never any good when you put more pressure on yourself. Just going to stay in my bubble that week and take it a shot at a time.”

Earlier this year, Korda became the fastest player to collect $2 million in prize money over a single season. This latest win earned her an additional $450,000, bringing her season total up to $2,943,708.

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Golf, Women's Golf Tagged With: Nelly Korda

LPGA Tour star Nelly Korda joins elite company with 5th straight win

April 23, 2024 by Tara S

 By Scott Thompson Fox News

While Scottie Scheffler is wreaking havoc on the PGA Tour, Nelly Korda is doing the exact same on the LPGA Tour. 

Korda won the Chevron Championship on Sunday, the year’s first major on the LPGA Tour, and it marked her fifth straight victory. 

Korda, 25, joined Annika Sorestam and Nancy Lopez as the only members on Tour who have won five consecutive events. It was also Korda’s second career major victory, having won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021.

“It’s been an amazing feeling these past couple weeks knowing that I can go on this stretch and that if I stay in my bubble and I keep golf in a sense simple and let it flow, then I can have so, so much fun out here,” Korda said, via ESPN.

Korda was able to hoist the Chevron Championship trophy after birdying the par-5 18th hole at Carlton Woods in Texas. She beat out Maja Stark, who birdied her final two holes to pull within one stroke of Korda.

Korda’s 13-under performance for the tournament had several highlights, too, including a chip-in birdie on the par-4 10th hole in her final round that left the crowd roaring. 

With the victory, Korda won $1.2 million from the $7.9 million purse for the major. She has now earned $2,424,216 this year. 

There was a time where Korda wasn’t sure when she’d be back on a golf course, as she dealt with a blood clot that required surgery in 2022.

“Because obviously then I was just more scared for my health,” she said. “Competing was kind of on the back seat. I was not thinking about competing at all. But I think all of the sad times and the health scares that I have gone through have made me who I am today.”

She’s the world No. 1 women’s golfer and miraculously hasn’t lost an event since January. 

Next week, though, Korda isn’t going to make it six in a row, as she announced her withdrawal from the JM Eagle LA Championship. 

“It was not an easy decision. After the unbelievable week at The Chevron and grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted,” she explained. “With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Golf, Women's Golf Tagged With: Nelly Korda

Gymnast Morgan Price becomes first HBCU athlete to win national collegiate title

April 16, 2024 by Tara S

By Cara Tabachnick | CBS News

Gymnast Morgan Price became the first athlete from a historically Black college or university team to win a national collegiate championship on Friday.  

The Fisk University student clinched the title with an all-around score of 39.225 – and became “the first USAG Collegiate National Champion from an HBCU! ” said USA Gymnastics. She was among athletes from 12 college teams joining the competition at the USA Gymnastics’ 2024 Women’s Collegiate National Championships in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Price joined the first HBCU intercollegiate team at Nashville’s Fisk University in 2023 after graduating from high school. She initially signed onto Arkansas before switching to attend Fisk, ESPN reported, after Coach Corrine Tarver asked her the simple question: “Do you want to make history?”

Since forming, the gymnastics team has garnered high-profile media attention, competed on ESPN and has sold out meets.

“I have learned that it is enjoyable to be around your culture. Since we are the first, we have a lot of eyes on us, and our support system is excellent. Seeing the fans and little girls cheering us on was super fun,” Price said in 2023.

Her team celebrated her win with a social media post saying, “THE PRICE IS RIGHT. Etch her name in the HISTORY BOOKS.”

Price will compete on Sunday in the Individual Event finals on vault, bars and floor.

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Collegiate Sports, Gymnastics Tagged With: morgan price

NELLY KORDA BECOMES FIRST LPGA PRO TO WIN THREE TITLES IN A ROW SINCE 2016

April 1, 2024 by Tara S

By: Andy Roberts | Golf Magic

NELLY KORDA BECOMES FIRST LPGA PRO TO WIN THREE TITLES IN A ROW SINCE 2016

World No.1 Nelly Korda continues her golden run with three straight wins on the LPGA Tour. 

Nelly Korda becomes first LPGA pro to win three titles in a row since 2016

Nelly Korda has become the first player since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016 to win three straight titles on the LPGA Tour following victory at the Ford Championship.

Korda, 25, closed with a flawless 7-under 65 to finish the week on 20-under par and two strokes clear of Hira Naveed.

It marked her 11th win on the LPGA Tour.

The win also makes it a consecutive hat-trick for Korda having also won the LPGA Drive On Championship on 28 January and the Fir Hills Seri Park Championship on 24 March. 

“To win three in a row is just a dream come true,” said Korda.

That matches a feat last set by Jutanugarn who won three straight events on the LPGA Tour in 2016.

Jutanugarn won the Yokohama Tire LPGA Clasic, Kingsmill Championship and LPGA Volvik Championship that season. 

Prior to that, Inbee Park achieved the feat in 2013 and so did Lorena Ochoa in 2008.

Korda will need to keep her foot on the gas to achieve the outright LPGA Tour record of consecutive wins as the current record is five. 

That was set by Nancy Lopez in 1978 and Annika Sorenstam in 2005. 

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Golf, Women's Golf

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark breaks ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich’s NCAA Division I scoring record

March 4, 2024 by Tara S

By Phil Helsel and Rebecca Cohen | NBC News

Clark on Feb. 15 became the leading career scorer for NCAA women when she passed Kelsey Plum’s 3,527 career points, set in 2017.

Two weeks after she broke the record for women, Caitlin Clark has become NCAA Division I basketball’s overall top scorer, period.

The Iowa Hawkeyes star went into Sunday’s game against the Ohio State Buckeyes needing 18 points to break “Pistol Pete” Maravich’s record of 3,667 career points, which stood for more than 50 years. And with a second-quarter free throw, she became the top-scoring player — man or woman — in NCAA basketball history.

By the time the final buzzer rang out in Sunday’s game — in which the Hawkeyes beat the Buckeyes 93-83 — Clark had scored 35 points.

Clark’s Sunday total sets the new NCAA scoring record at 3,685 points.

Following the free throw that broke the scoring record, Clark said the record wasn’t on her mind, “but then when they announced it and everybody screamed, that’s when I knew,” she said in an interview with Fox reporter Allison Williams.

Clark said in a postgame interview with Williams that her team “came out and dominated” against the Buckeyes.

“I’m just proud of our girls,” Clark said. “It was a fun, dominant win for us. I thought we played really well.”

Clark, in an interview during her Senior Night ceremony, said she is “very grateful” after starting her career at Iowa “playing in front of absolutely no one during COVID,” and “now it’s impossible to get a ticket to get in the door to our games.”

“I think the people that have made it the most special, obviously my teammates, my coaches,” Clark said. “But it isn’t what it is without all of you,” she continued, gesturing to the cheering crowds of fans.

“I mean that and I thank you,” Clark said. “This is special. I don’t know if you guys realize what you’re doing for women’s basketball and women’s sports in general, but you’re changing it. You’re helping us change it.”

“I’ve put on an Iowa jersey for four years,” Clark said, “but like Coach Bluder and Kate [Martin] said, there’s still so much more fun to have and we’re not done.”

Clark, 22, earned the women’s record Feb. 15 when she scored her first 8 points in a game against Michigan and passed Kelsey Plum’s 3,527 points in a career that ended in 2017. Clark went on that night to score a career-high 49 points.

NCAA women leading career scorer
Iowa Caitlin Clark listens as the crowd cheers after she broke the NCAA women’s all-time scoring record in Iowa City on Feb. 15.Matthew Holst / Getty Images file

“I’m just really grateful, honestly, to be able to be here and make so many of my dreams come true,” Clark said after the history-making game, which Iowa won, 106-89.

She put up 33 points against Minnesota on Wednesday to cement her place atop the all-time career points among women to play for major colleges. The record had been held by Kansas great Lynette Woodard, who scored 3,650 points. (Woodard played from 1977 to 1981, when women’s sports were governed by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.)

Clark and Woodard had a chance to catch up and celebrate following Sunday’s game.

“It’s just a great time for women’s basketball,” Woodard said in an interview with Fox’s Williams following Clark’s new record.

“Caitlin is leading the way. As she was chipping away I said, ‘Records are made to be broken, but also, they’re made to be honored,’” Woodard said. “And because of her, my records are being honored.”

Woodard continued: “I came to this game knowing she had 18 points to get. I had 19, but I have no more playing time. So, hopefully I passed her the baton for her to go ahead and burst through that ceiling, and I’m so happy for her.”

The overall record comes on Clark’s final regular-season game as a college athlete. Though the 22-year-old senior has another year of eligibility, she announced earlier this week that she would enter the WNBA draft next month.

“It probably won’t hit me until a little bit later, but I’m just gonna enjoy with my family and my teammates and I’m just really thankful to be in this place,” Clark said when asked what emotions she was feeling ahead of her “official goodbye” to Hawkeye Nation.

Her final season has been full of big moments and big numbers: She’s averaging 32 points per game, but at least four times this season she has racked up 40 points. The 6-foot guard from West Des Moines is also averaging more than 8 assists per game, and she recently recorded the 1,000th assist of her college career, making her only the sixth woman in college basketball history to do so.

With the scoring record in hand, Clark is now doubtless looking to lead her team, 25-4, to a national title. Last year, they made a run to the NCAA title game, where they lost to LSU.

Maravich’s NCAA men’s scoring record was 3,667 points, which he set playing for LSU from 1968 to 1970.

After college, Maravich went on to an NBA career in which he was a five-time All-Star. He played for the Atlanta Hawks and the then-New Orleans Jazz and for one season with the Boston Celtics.Maravich died in 1988 in Pasadena, California, at 40 years old.

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Collegiate Sports, Women's Basketball

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA women’s hoops scoring record

February 21, 2024 by Tara S

Michael Voepel, ESPN.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark had no specific plan for how she hoped to break the NCAA women’s basketball scoring record Thursday. But after doing so while also setting the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ single-game scoring record, Clark had to grin.

“You all knew I was going to shoot a logo 3 for the record,” said Clark, who now has 3,569 career points, 49 of them coming Thursday. And indeed, every aspect of the night seemed storybook perfect for the senior star.

Clark came into No. 4 Iowa’s game against Michigan with 3,520 points, needing eight to break the mark previously set by Washington‘s Kelsey Plum (3,527) from 2013 to 2017. Clark did it about as quickly as she possibly could.

She got the ball off the opening tip and drove in for a layup. Then she hit a deep 3-pointer from her favorite spot on the court, the left side. An even deeper 3-pointer from the same side — one of Clark’s signature shots from the logo — produced pandemonium from the packed house at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It took Clark just 2 minutes and 12 seconds to become the NCAA record holder. By the end of Iowa’s 106-89 victory over the Wolverines, she had also bested Megan Gustafson’s school record of 48.

“I don’t know if you can really script it any better,” Clark said. “Just to do it in this fashion, I’m very grateful. Very thankful to be surrounded by so many people that have been my foundation.”

EDITOR’S PICKS

  • In ‘making extraordinary look routine,’ Caitlin Clark raises standard for next generation6dAndrea Adelson
  • What’s next for Caitlin Clark? Pete Maravich’s NCAA record within reach6dKevin Pelton
  • ‘3,528 and counting’: Sports world praises Caitlin Clark for women’s hoops scoring record6dESPN Staff

This was Clark’s fourth career game scoring 45 points or more, and she had 13 assists. In total, she scored or assisted on 79 of Iowa’s 106 points (74.5%).

“It really is hard to stop Caitlin Clark,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.

“I think she does enjoy it,” she added of how Clark seems to shine the brightest in the biggest moments. “If you work that hard at your craft, don’t you want to share it with everybody? Don’t you want to express it?”

Both Clark and Bluder had said coming into the game that they didn’t anticipate a stoppage of play when the record came. However, Iowa took a timeout, and Clark’s teammates gathered with her in a joyous group hug on the court. Clark’s broad smile told the story of the night: the chase record she said never felt like a burden was now hers to celebrate.

She was far from done, though. Clark went 8-of-10 from the field — 5-of-7 from 3-point range — in the first quarter, scoring 23 points. It was the most points she has scored in any first quarter in her Iowa career, and the second most of any quarter. She had 25 in the fourth quarter of a loss to Michigan on Feb. 6, 2022.

From there, it was just a matter of how high she would go Thursday.

“Honestly, warming up, my shot just felt good,” Clark said. “So I knew it was going to be one of those nights, and I kind of played with a little bit more pep in my step. I knew that’s what this team needed coming off a loss.”

Clark had 31 points Sunday at Nebraska as the Hawkeyes were upset 82-79. But there was nothing the Wolverines could do to prevent Clark from taking over Thursday. Bluder praised Michigan, saying that as hard as the Wolverines battled in the game, they also gave Clark a gift and wrote congratulatory notes to her.

Not Done Yet

Iowa has four regular-season games remaining before an anticipated postseason run, giving Caitlin Clark more shots at history. She is:

• 81 points shy of passing Hall of Famer Lynette Woodard. Woodard (3,649) set the AIAW major-college record at Kansas from 1978 to 1981 before the NCAA began governing women’s athletics.

• 99 points shy of passing Hall of Famer Pete Maravich (3,667) for the most points in Division I history (men’s and women’s).

• 316 points shy of passing Hall of Famer Pearl Moore. Moore (3,884) set the overall AIAW record at Francis Marion from 1975 to 1979.

• 258 points shy of passing Kelsey Plum (1,109 in 2016-17) for the most points in a season in Division I history.

• On pace to be the first player in Division I history to lead the nation in scoring in three different seasons (already done in 2020-21 and 2021-22).

— ESPN Stats & Information

Clark could reach even more scoring milestones this season. The AIAW large-school women’s record — set just before the NCAA era by Kansas‘ Lynette Woodard from 1977 to 1981 — is 3,649 points. The NCAA men’s record is 3,667 by LSU‘s Pete Maravich from 1967 to 1970, before freshman eligibility in college basketball.

There also is a chance the AIAW overall record — 3,884 points, set by Francis Marion’s Pearl Moore from 1975 to 1979 — could be in play for Clark, depending on how far Iowa advances in the postseason. Clark is currently averaging 32.8 points for the 23-3 Hawkeyes, who have four regular-season games left.

Clark is already the first Division I women’s player to reach 3,000 points and 1,000 assists. But records and milestones are just part of her story. She is a generational talent who is growing her sport’s popularity.

“My favorite athletes are those who are champions in sports and champions in life, and Caitlin Clark is one of those athletes,” tennis champion and women’s sports advocate Billie Jean King told ESPN.

“She is the hottest star in basketball — all of basketball, and not just women’s basketball — and with that comes a heavy responsibility to be a leader on and off the court. She gets it, and that is part of the reason she will have an opportunity to be one of the best in her sport and a role model for future generations.”

There is a lot on the shoulders of the just-turned-22-year-old, but Clark looks as if she’s having the time of her life. She plays with the same passion, confidence and joyful flair she first brought to the court as a college freshman in 2020, when games were mostly played in near-empty arenas because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, the “Caitlin Clark Show” is one of the most sought-after tickets in sports. Fans of all ages call out her name and wear her No. 22 jersey. Parents drive their children hundreds of miles to watch Clark. Police escort her to and from the arena on game days, and on and off the court.

NCAA rule changes regarding name, image and likeness have allowed Clark to appear in national advertising campaigns. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes complimented her game while talking to media in the lead-up to the Super Bowl. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, widely considered the best shooter in NBA history, has praised Clark’s shooting form and poise.

“Caitlin’s special,” said Curry, one of the players — along with the WNBA’s Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Plum and Sabrina Ionescu — after whom Clark has modeled her game. “The record speaks for itself, and it’s cool. From a scoring perspective, from a shooting perspective, just doing what she’s doing — she could pick anybody that she talks about in terms of being an inspiration. If she models something of her game after me, I don’t take that for granted.”

ESPN analyst, 1995 UConn national champion and 1996 Olympian Rebecca Lobo said Clark and Curry have similar qualities that make them both successful and appeal to a wide range of fans.

“Caitlin is the whole package,” Lobo said. “She’s playing the game a way we haven’t seen before by a woman. We’ve not seen someone take that many shots from quite that distance and hit them at such [a high percentage].

“And she’s like Steph Curry — he’s charismatic and he’s not a physical giant. So every kid can visualize themselves as Caitlin Clark. It’s not like, ‘Well, to play like her I’d have to be 6-4 or 6-5.’ Caitlin is 6-0, but you actually don’t have to be that tall to try to do the things she does.”

The West Des Moines, Iowa, native opted to stay in her home state for college, leading Iowa to the past two Big Ten tournament titles and the 2023 women’s Final Four. Last season, she broke the record for scoring in an NCAA tournament (191 points), had the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA postseason history and led Iowa to an upset of undefeated No. 1 overall seed and defending champion South Carolina in the national semifinals.

Iowa fell to LSU in the championship game, which drew a record 9.9 million viewers on ABC. The 2023 NCAA tournament catapulted Clark to another level of popularity. That has continued to build since the Hawkeyes’ preseason game in October at Iowa’s football stadium, which drew 55,646 fans, a single-game attendance record for women’s basketball.

“You need superstars in sports,” Julie Foudy, an Olympic and Women’s World Cup soccer champion, told ESPN. “Mia [Hamm] was our superstar. She was shy and introverted. Caitlin seems more comfortable dealing with all the attention.

“But Mia then, as Caitlin does now, also recognized the significance and importance of her popularity. The value of it, not just individually but collectively, and how so many other women could benefit from her stardom.”

Clark could stay another season at Iowa, because of the COVID-19 waiver from 2020-21, or she could declare for the 2024 WNBA draft, where she is certain to be the No. 1 pick. Clark said she will wait to make that decision until after this season.

The Carver-Hawkeye crowd chanted, “One more year!” at the conclusion of Thursday’s game.

“I paid them,” Bluder joked. “I thought it was a pretty good chant.”

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For now, Clark is focused on trying to win Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships for Iowa, and making a return trip to the Final Four. And with every additional point she scores, she will add to her own NCAA record.

Clark said that what made her the most emotional after the game was the congratulatory messages that were played on the arena’s video screen from her coaches, teammates and family.

“They’ve seen me go through some really hard losses and some really great wins,” Clark said of her parents and two brothers. “They’ve been there pushing me to be my very best and allowing me to dream ever since I was a young girl. I didn’t plan on crying tonight, but it got me a little bit.

“I’m so thankful every single day, because I’m playing in front of 15,000 people. I get to do it with my best friends. I get to play the game that I absolutely love more than anything.”

Filed Under: AOTM, Athlete Spotlight, Collegiate Sports, Women's Basketball

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