How Caitlin Clark has impacted women's college basketball

Unless you've been living under a rock over the last four years, you've probably heard the name Caitlin Clark. 

Iowa's prolific scorer has been the player that everyone, from the average fan to NBA greats, have been keeping their eyes on. The Hawkeyes guard (as of this writing) averages just over 28 points per game and just recently claimed the honor of becoming NCAA Division I's top scorer, passing LSU's Pete Maravich. For those of you taking score at home, that's over 3,600 points. 

To fill up space here, I could easily list all of her accolades, but we're not going to do that. Instead, we'll focus on the impact she's had on the sport. 

For a few years now, women's basketball has been rising in popularity. Just last year when Clark's Hawkeyes were battling Angel Reese and LSU, a record 9.9 million viewers tuned in to see the big championship game. 

Because of what she's done on the court, fans are now learning more about the likes of Lynette Woodard and Pearl Moore, both phenomenal scorers in their own rights during their respective playing days. 

But why? What's so special about Clark? 

Well, Clark is arguably the best scorer in women's college basketball today.  Let's take a look at the numbers this year. Just in the regular season this year, Clark has put up 35 points or more 13 times. In her senior season, she averages 32 points per game and shot just shy of 40% from behind the arc. 

By the way, a few of those shots aren't exactly near the 3-point line. Did you see her record-breaking shot?

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Logo threes have become her signature over time. Now, she'll be taking her shooting talents to the NCAA Tournament before making her move to the NCAA Tournament. We all know that March is prime for big moments and I don't think we'll be short of any from Clark this time around.  

If there's one thing we learned during NBA All-Star Weekend watching Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu square off, it's the fact that we (sports fans) love seeing a shooter get hot. There's something special about watching a player find their rhythm and become practically unstoppable. At times, Clark has looked the same way. 

With that in mind, keep an eye on Iowa. Although we never know what can and will happen in March during the NCAA Tournament, we do know Clark's gonna let 'em fly in hopes of pushing the Hawkeyes to a national title.