Iowa’s Victory Over LSU Was Most-Watched Women’s College Basketball Game Ever As ESPN Tallies Record Elite 8 Audience

The college basketball season may be over, but Caitlin Clark helped lead ESPN to one more audience record before going pro.

debut to dunk on .The SNL comedian has had a lot to say about this season, even during last night's episode. “University of Iowa announced that basketball star Caitlin Clark will have her jersey retired and replaced with an apron,” he joked before welcoming the on Weekend Update.After watching a super-cut of Ché's jokes about the , the 22-year-old athlete had the 40-year-old comedian read some headlines of her own.

Caitlin Clark is on Saturday Night Live!

Anne McCarthy After making a joke about Iowa Hawkeyes player Caitlin Clark retiring her jersey for an apron, Michael Che was roasted on the “Weekend Update” segment of “SNL” this week by none other than Clark. Che opened the bit by saying, “University of Iowa announced that Caitlin Clark will have her jersey retired.” With a smirk and a laugh, he added, “And replace with an apron.” The crowd didn’t love the joke, and Che playfully said, “Whoa! Well, the WNBA draft is this Monday, and Iowa star Caitlin Clark is expected to be the number one pick.

Michael Che was humbled by basketball star Caitlin Clark when she crashed Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update” segment after the comedian made a sexist joke at her expense.

Kim Kardashian is stepping out to support her son.

By All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.You don’t have to be a sports fan to have noticed something epic is happening in women’s .Call it the , the phenomenon named for the Iowa Hawkeyes guard who completely reshaped the college basketball landscape this season.

South Carolina defeated Iowa in front of a record-breaking national audience on Sunday.

regardless if her comments may offend some people — was asked about her position on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.The question came from Dan Zaksheske, a reporter for OutKick, a website with a strong conservative viewpoint that markets itself as an “everyman” alternative to mainstream sports news outlets.“You just talked about what a massive weekend this is for women’s basketball, women’s sports in general,” Zaksheske said. “One of the major issues facing women’s sports now is the debate/discussion/topic about transgender athletes, biological men in women’s sports. I was wondering if you could tell me your position on that issue.”“Damn, you got deep on me, didn’t you?” Staley responded after taking a long sip of water.

Maybe a star player will be singled out with a “thank you for making us better,” or some other sportsmanlike platitude.However, when Dawn Staley, head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, took the podium on Sunday, April 7, following her team’s big win, she went out of her way to dedicate an entire paragraph of her speech to , the college basketball star for the Iowa Hawkeyes.“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport,” Staley . “She carried a heavy load for and it’s just not going to stop here on the collegiate tour, but when she is the number one pick in the draft, she’s going to lift up that league up as well.”She added, “Caitlin Clark, if you’re out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game and we appreciate you.”Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks celebrates after beating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament National Championship.Staley’s decision to call Clark a GOAT seems pointed, especially after some fans believed the South Carolina coach in a previous interview.“If Caitlin wins the championship, she’s pretty damn good, yeah, she’s a GOAT,” Staley said the day before the final game, .

It was perfection topped with sweet revenge for the South Carolina Gamecocks, who capped a perfect season Sunday by beating Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes, 87-75.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The University of South Carolina overwhelmed the Iowa Hawkeyes Sunday in a rollicking NCAA Women’s College Basketball Championship game that capped an unprecedented run for women’s sports. The game that ended 87-75 saw University of Iowa megastar Caitlin Clark wrap her collegiate career and the birth of not one but two WNBA stars, as Clark and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso head off to next week’s WNBA draft. The Iowa-South Carolina game was a seesaw from the start.

can't be considered one of the greatest woman's college basketball player of all time without having won a championship, despite her .A controversial foul call put a bit of a damper on the victory for many viewers.By “If Caitlin wins the championship, she's pretty damn good, yeah, she's a GOAT," Staley said, per . "I mean, she’s really damn good regardless.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Caitlin Clark and Co. delivered big-time for ESPN on Friday with a record audience tuning in to the Final Four game that sent the University of Iowa to Sunday’s national championship. ESPN’s nighttime telecast of UConn-Iowa faceoff delivered an audience of 14.2 million viewers, a new high mark for a women’s college basketball game, per ESPN citing Nielsen data.

Thee women’s NCAA Semifinals on ESPN shattered viewership records, as all-time NCAA basketball scoring leader Caitlin Clark led her Iowa Hawkeyes to a thrilling win over the UConn Huskies, 71-69, in a game that wasn’t decided until the final seconds.

—and the pressure is mounting.The led the Iowa Hawkeyes to victory against UConn on April 5, sending the college team to the women’s NCAA championship game against the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks.Just last week, Iowa's win against Louisiana State University became the in women’s college history, with 12.3 million viewers tuning in to see the epic rematch between Clark and fellow generational talent . While Clark has yet to win a national title, the superstar recently became the the all-time , male or female.

Rudie Obias editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Caitlin Clark takes to the college basketball court for the last time, as the Iowa Hawkeyes chases NCAA Women’s National Championship title against Kamilla Cardoso and the South Carolina Gamecocks. The game takes place at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio with tip-off at 3 p.m.

A battle for the ages is shaping up on Sunday to decide the NCAA Women’s National Basketball championship.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The University of Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark are set for consecutive trips to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game as the team prevailed in a nail-biter Final Four faceoff against University of Connecticut. The final matchup finishes out a dream March Madness tournament for NCAA Women’s Basketball, as star players such as Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese and others have grabbed the spotlight.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The outsized audience for this week’s highly-watched women’s NCAA basketball match between Iowa and LSU may also have noticed that many of the commercials seen during the game belonged to AT&T, State Farm, Home Depot and Gatorade. There was good reason. Optimum Sports, a media agency that specializes in sports properties and is part of ad giant Omnicom Group, had quietly snatched up 35% of advertising time during the game, a record setter in terms of viewership for women’s sports and the latest example of how interest in female players and the leagues in which they play is booming.