Following her departure for the WNBA, Caitlin Clark will need to overcome the disappointment of falling short of a championship victory.

Caitlin Clark's record-breaking NCAA tournament run, by the numbers | NCAA.com

Despite the Iowa standout’s impressive 30-point performance against South Carolina in Sunday’s national title game, the Hawkeyes succumbed to an 87-75 defeat against a well-prepared Gamecocks team.

While acknowledging the imperfect officiating, spectators were disheartened by Clark’s persistent appeals to the referees, with the 22-year-old visibly frustrated by the absence of calls on numerous occasions. Criticism mounted online, with some fans accusing her of demanding unjustified foul calls.

Clark’s tendency to dispute officiating decisions was a recurring theme throughout the NCAA Tournament. In particular, her behavior during the round of 32 match against West Virginia garnered attention, with her protests overshadowing an otherwise stellar performance.

Even her father appeared to be tired of her antics at one point.

Iowa’s Final Four matchup against UConn saw 18 calls go against the Huskies, including a controversial illegal screen call in the dying seconds, with forward Aaliyah Edwards getting blown for attempting to set a screen on Gabbie Marshall for the last shot.

The call took possession away from the Hawkeyes, ultimately helping them to a close win.

Fans Went At Caitlin Clark On Sunday


The Gamecocks were called for 17 fouls during the national title game on Sunday. Caitlin Clarke would hit a three after pushing a defender off at one point, so fans were not inclined to feel sorry for her when the calls went against Iowa or didn’t come at all.

South Carolina still managed to dominate, thanks to a monster performance from the towering Kamilla Cardoso, who scored 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.

Clark leaves for the WNBA without achieving her goal of winning a championship in college but can look back fondly on a record-breaking NCAA career after becoming college basketball’s highest-ever scorer during the season.