"We’re ending it playing in front of 15 million": Iowa star Caitlin Clark reflects on women's basketball growth

Caitlin Clark wrapped her college career with the Iowa Hawkeyes with an 87-75 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks. On an undefeated 38-0 run this season, SC clinched its third title, after 2017 and 2022.

Despite the disappointment, Clark is optimistic about her future while also being grateful for the season Iowa had. The sport has grown leaps and bounds in the past last seasons. Caitlin Clark spoke about it:

"When I think about women's basketball going forward, obviously it's just going to continue to grow, whether it's up to the WNBA level whether it's at the college level. Like everybody sees it, everybody knows. Everybody sees the viewership numbers. When you're given an opportunity, woman's sports just kind of thrives."

"And I think that's kind of been the coolest part for me on this journey is. We start our season playing in front of 55000 people in Kinnick Stadium, and now we're ending at probably playing in front of 15 million people or more on TV."

"It's just gonna continue to get better and better and better. That's never gonna stop. When you continue to give them the platform, things like this are just gonna continue to happen."

---

Caitlin Clark vs Paige Bueckers clash was the most watched game on ESPN

On Friday, the Iowa Hawkeyes beat the UConn Huskies 71-69 in the Final Four game.

The broadcast on ESPN drew an average of 14.2 million viewers, peaking at 17 million viewers. That makes it ESPN's most-watched game ever, taking the spot from the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics, which drew 13.51 million viewers.

In women's college basketball, the next most viewed game is the 12.3 million viewers for the Elite Eight Iowa vs LSU game on Apr. 1.

Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and JuJu Watkins have brought attention to college hoops in the last couple of years. Women's college basketball viewership jumped 66% percent this year, drawing in 436,000 average users, according to FOX Sports. The number is expected to grow, as stars like Hannah Hidalgo and Milaysia Fulwiley take over in the coming year.

The perks are expected to extend to the WNBA as well, as Clark, Reese, Cameron Brink and Kamilla Cardoso make their entry into the league in May. As the projected No. 1 pick, Caitlin Clark could be heading to the Indiana Fever, and the team is already experiencing a surge in ticket sales.

The 2024 WNBA draft is scheduled on Apr. 15 at the Brooklyn Music Academy and will be broadcast live on ESPN.

---

What do you think of Caitlin Clark's future in the WNBA? Let's know your thoughts in the comments section below.