Say what you want about ring culture, and Breanna’s an excellent player.
But Breanna chose to play with multiple 5 star recruits at the most well endowed program in the sport.
Iowa’s made 1 FF before CC arrived. UConn 24. There’s levels to this
"Does Caitlin Clark need a championship to be considered one of the greats in women's college basketball history?" -
@NicoleAuerbach
"Yeah. She does." -
@breannastewart
Live
@WFinalFour
Coverage:
After her postgame interview Caitlin Clark went straight to this fan to sign her shirt and take a picture
It turns out she has leukemia, and Clark made sure in advance she would make the time to see her.
A heartwarming find by
@ScottDochterman
Caitlin Clark says winning a title would be not just for her, but all who wore the black and gold previously:
"It would be for every Iowa women's basketball player that come before us..."
Caitlin seemed to be taken aback when she realized a reporter came (from France?) to the big ten tournament to ask her about her impact across the world. Worth a listen
Caitlin gave away her custom Sabrinas to this lucky fan
We later found out this was no coincidence: Franny, from Dubuque, was mimicking the Hawkeyes warming up and she was flattered.
Kirk Ferentz on Thanksgiving:
"It's a great deal, I mean it's the best holiday going. You eat good food and you don't have to bring gifts so it's a hell of a deal."
😂😂😂
Lisa Bluder played at UNI, coached at St. Ambrose, Drake, and Iowa.
"We're proud of our state. We believe in hard work, we believe in honesty and integrity, and I want that to shine through with my team."
Kirk shared some commentary on how Iowa and Iowa State are the only 2 schools being investigated
"I find it highly unusual that were two major universities affected in the whole country"
"We could probably fill Kinnick with all the college athletes that have gambled"
Kate Martin wants to be a coach one day, in part because of Lisa Bluder: "I hope to be just like her one day in the coaching world, hopefully I can be half as good of a coach as her"
An emotional Bluder when asked about the comment: "She's a special kid..."
Kate Martin got emotional talking about Monika & McKenna
"It stinks that they didn't get to finish their last game of their career out there on the court"
The final three games of Caitlin Clark's career at Iowa all broke the record for most-watched women's college basketball game 🔥
@CaitlinClark22
📺 12.3 million vs. LSU
📺 14.2 million vs. UConn
📺 18.7 million vs. South Carolina
Caitlin Clark was literally hearing calls for her autograph 3 seconds after her tee shot lands
Fans would likely get kicked off the course if they did that this weekend
For over 4 hours straight, she was an autograph signing, selfie taking machine.
We don't deserve her
First words out of Jack Campbell’s mouth when asked about his interception:
“Heck of a play by Riley Moss”
…
“It’s always a teammate that creates an opportunity for you”
"That fair catch call in Iowa was the most ridiculous call I've seen in quite some time..
Nothing about this says fair catch and I feel terrible for Iowa fans" ~
@AaronRodgers12
#PMSLive
Here’s 9 year old Franny, nearly 2 days after Caitlin Clark gave her her game worn, signed pair of shoes.
You’ll hear from her and her father Scott soon
Colorado guard Maddie Nolan on the attention Caitlin gets for the emotion she plays with & the double standard of the criticism
“If everybody played without emotion it would be boring to watch right…”
Well, Iowa's got one quality in their quarterbacks according to Jay Higgins:
"I feel like we do a good job of recruiting quarterbacks who aren't douchebags..."
After the game a touching video was played with messages from Caitlin's friends and family, past and present.
The biggest roars of applause came for Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock!
I asked Maya Moore if she's any of herself in Caitlin
"The way that she is present in every moment and plays with her team... I love that aspect about both of our games..."
Iowa AD Beth Goetz was kind enough to talk about this historic day on camera for a few minutes. I asked her how she would describe the Caitlin Clark effect:
"She's a once in a generation student-athlete and just to a privilege to be able to watch part of this journey with her"
Caitlin Clark on holding it together all season:
"It's certainly been hard at times to always be in the spotlight on you, I wouldn't change it for the world..."
Yes, it's true -- Hannah Stuelke is shooting 100% (3-3), which is better than Caitlin (2-3)
Caitlin: "We'll see how long that lasts."
Hannah: "All season"
Caitlin: "I'll sign up for that"
LeVar Woods with an incredible response on how to get players excited about playing special teams.
References showing players tape of Shonn Greene, Adrian Clayborn, Dallas Clark & Jack Campbell making a name for themselves before they were stars.
Worth 2 minutes of your time.
LeVar Woods with a great rant on how Iowa has always found ways to develop great players, and while the team is losing a few great ones this year, they’ll find a way. “We have those guys on this team, we just don’t know their story yet”
I wish I had more time to write a fitting caption when I captured this:
This moment is everything. The law firm. The point-post duo. The journey. The destination.
It cuts so deep because these two are everything great about this team, and this sport.
Coach Bluder didn't pass up the opportunity to thank the fans that turned Minneapolis into a home atmosphere
"They show up at Carver, they show up here, they show up in Dallas -- they show up everywhere..."
I wondered why Gabbie Marshall was at the front of the line, and then I realized.
Anyways, here's the Hawks coming out of the tunnel and a look at Molly Davis
Brian on coaching with his father:
"As you get older you meet your parents as people... but I got a chance to know my father professionally, and that's been pretty special."
"He's lived up to everything I imagined him to be... I've enjoyed every minute of working with him."
Even with the long lines, sold out crowds, and inflated ticket prices, it's hard to fathom Caitlin Clark's impact on young fans. This video from
@BlakeHornTV
captures it well. Listen at the :13 mark. 🔊
Caitlin, like the rest of us, read the novel that Wright Thompson published
"It's kind of a different look for a lot of people of what my life's really like and I think the thing I loved about it was it's very real it's very me..."
It's a shame I could only put about :15 of Jan Jensen on TV last night. Here's 100 seconds of her talking about what competitiveness looks like:
"It ain't for the feint of heart...when you're going for something there's an intensity and drive that kind of sets you apart..."
Caitlin: "What better way to end it all? You have the overtime, we fight back. Bad shooting, good shooting. Defense stops, it just really had it all on the biggest stage."
Hannah on how her team helped her move on from a crucial turnover with 12 seconds to play:
"After that turnover I was a bit upset because it was kind of my fault, the girls around me just told me to drop it..."
Kirk on evaluating wins vs stats
"I can think of a guy who entered the conference recently that came with widely acclaimed offensive stats.."
"There's a school on the west coast right now that's going to re-commit to defense... at a place where Ronnie Lott played"