Even in the face of defeat, Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin are still inspiring the future generation. The Iowa stars suffered a 87-75 loss in the national championship on Sunday to South Carolina, ending their college careers.
It certainly wasn’t the way they envisioned things going, but it’s been an incredible journey for Clark and Martin. They’ve both played a major part in growing the game of women’s college basketball, which has seen record viewership this season thanks in large part to Clark’s record-setting career.
A reminder of that came during the postgame press conference, when a nine-year-old asked the players what advice they would give to young people who want to be like them. Clark followed with a heartfelt speech on the importance of belief in yourself.
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“I think the biggest thing is — and this is what I kind of say about my entire career — nobody really believed other than myself,” Clark said. “I think confidence as a young girl, a young boy. Have confidence in yourself and confidence in whatever you want to be. I think that was a thing my parents instilled in me from a young age. They never told me no. They told me no about a lot of other things, but not in what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be and the goals I wanted to chase after. I have to say that’s the biggest thing.”
Clark put women’s college basketball on the map over the past few seasons as she put up unprecedented numbers. She took down several records in the process, including becoming the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer regardless of gender.
Her generational talent took the Hawkeyes to their only national championship appearances in program history the past two seasons, though they unfortunately fell short both times. She finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Sunday’s loss, becoming the NCAA Tournament’s all-time leader in scoring.
Martin has also been a key part of Iowa’s run the past couple of season and just finished her sixth season with the Hawkeyes. She added to Clark’s message by sharing her own story as a young girl who dreamed of playing in Iowa City.
“I used to sleep with the Iowa women’s basketball poster on my ceiling,” Martin said. “So to be in this position and to play for coach Bluder and make it to back-to-back national championships, I just feel super grateful. It’s because I worked really hard and I dreamed big. I’m not some All-American five-star recruit out of high school. I never was. People believed in me and I believed in myself and here I am. If I can do it, so can you.”
Of course, Clark added the caveat that simply believing in yourself isn’t enough without hard work. She emphasized that she wouldn’t be where she is today, the projected No. 1 WNBA Draft pick, without it.
“You can say it, but you’ve gotta work for it,” she said. “You’ve gotta earn it. You don’t ever want anything to be given to you. I think that’s what I’m most proud of throughout my career. That’s where my confidence comes from and I think that’s the biggest piece of advice I’d give to the younger generation.”
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