The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clark shows love for Iowa fans after last home appearance
Hawkeyes star guard says she’ll be ‘forever grateful’ for reception.
Caitlin Clark raised her arms as she walked across the court, pumped her fists and made a heart with her hands as she bid farewell to her legion of adoring fans who came to see her play one last time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
The clock had just hit zeroes on No. 1 seed Iowa’s hard-earned 64-54 win over No. 8 West Virginia on Monday in the women’s NCAA Tournament, and she wanted to thank the fans.
“I’m forever grateful,” she said. The Hawkeyes will head to Albany, New York, to continue their bid to reach the championship game for a second straight year. No matter what happens the rest of the way, Clark will be remembered as the most beloved, if not the greatest, athlete to come out of the state that also produced Dan Gable, Bob Feller and Nile Kinnick.
“I’m very grateful that I got to play in an environment that supports women’s athletics the way that they do, not only women’s basketball — and to be honest, they’ve been doing this before I ever stepped on campus,” Clark said. “Maybe it wasn’t quite at the magnitude it is now, but these people and these fans have showed up, and they’ll continue to show up.”
The NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader had 32 points on a night nothing came easily for her or her teammates. The Mountaineers’ physical defense tried to knock her off her game, and for stretches it succeeded. She had to have blood wiped off her leg in the fourth quarter.
Among those in attendance were Basketball Hall of Fame member Nancy Lieberman, known as “Lady Magic,” and San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, who played for the Hawkeyes from 2013-16.
Clark’s parents were in the stands, as always. Brent, her dad, was a weekend social media fixture for his visible displeasure with his daughter for letting her frustration show when her shot wouldn’t fall or she didn’t get calls against Holy Cross on Saturday. Anne, her mom, smiled as she stood with her hands clasped.
And, like at every home game, fans of all ages showed up in their No. 22 jerseys and T-shirts, and many brought signs paying homage to the Iowa star.
Utah coach alleges ‘racial hate crimes’
SPOKANE, WASH. — Utah coach Lynne Roberts said her team experienced a series of “racial hate crimes” after arriving at its first NCAA Tournament hotel and was forced to change hotels during the event for safety concerns.
Utah was staying about 30 miles away in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and was relocated to a different hotel Friday.
Utah, South Dakota State and UC Irvine were staying at hotels in Idaho, even with Gonzaga as the host school, because of a lack of hotel space in the Spokane area.
Roberts did not elaborate on her comments, but Gonzaga officials said they were made aware of “racially disparaging comments” directed at visiting players.
Several years ago, Spokane was announced as a host for the first and second rounds of the men’s NCAA Tournament, and that created the hotel logjam.
3 perfect women’s brackets remain entering Sweet 16
LAS VEGAS — Three contestants in the ESPN Tournament Challenge went through the first two rounds of women’s NCAA Tournament without any misses.
Those were the only ones of 3.25 million brackets to accomplish that feat through Monday night’s action. The tournament resumes Friday with the Sweet 16.
Just .0003% were perfect on CBS’ site through Sunday, but there was no update Monday.