Indianapolis – News from Iowa is posted on Indiana's Twitter. Yes, Caitlin Clark has entered the WNBA Draft, and yes, the Indiana Fever owns the No. 1 pick and they will make their selection as soon as they can fill out the card. The smiles spread from the coaching office to the ticket office. But let's check out another constituency to learn about the seismic wave that is Caitlin Clark.
Please don't ask adults. Ask the children.
Welcome to the Indiana Girls High School Basketball Finals. Here's a collection of teenage girls who can tell you all about Clark, even if her home Iowa Hawkeye games are far away in another time zone.
Meet Gisele Chavez, a junior guard from Class A runner-up Marquette Catholic. She keeps a pamphlet about Clark next to her bed. Iowa may be beyond her two states, but her influence easily extends here as well. “That affected the way I look at basketball, because she's got a great saltiness, she's pretty salty when she's out there, she's got this kind of chip on her shoulder and she's a great shooter. ” says Chavez. She works at the gym and I want to look like her in my shots too.
“I think it affects all of us. Sometimes in practice someone hits a 3 and it's like… Clark!”
Teammate Marissa Pleasant helped Marquette Catholic's cause in the championship game with three 3-pointers early on. Another Clark enthusiast. “She's definitely an idol. I'm a 3-point shooter, so I want to be like her. I work hard in the gym and try to be like her. She's a really inspirational person. I think she is teaching a lot of young student-athletes that hard work pays off.”
“I think it showed us what our future could be.”
Not so long ago, the Marquette Catholic Blazers hosted everyone's favorite team event. They headed to West Lafayette to watch the Purdue women's team play. . . Game against Iowa. Although they are in the same state as Purdue, there weren't many Boilermaker fans on the roster that night.
Lanesville won the title by defeating Marquette Catholic, and the Eagles' top player, guard Hadley Crosher, who missed most of the championship game with a knee injury, was here. . “The way she just pulls up and takes a shot and makes it is insane, really insane,” she said. “The amount of time in the gym, the amount of technique and what it takes, it's huge.
“Sometimes she has bad games, but she has triple-doubles.”
✍🏼 Caitlin Clark Tracker: Follow the Iowa star's big games
But how can players from a college 350 miles away carry so much weight against the Indiana women's players? Brownstown Central's Harley Toppe, the team's leading scorer, had a tough outing in the Class 2A title game, making 2 of 15 from beyond the 3-point arc. “As I saw in that game, I love shooting threes. Just watching her practice and make threes makes me want to do it too. I've had her since she was a freshman. I've seen it all along. I think the energy that she brings and the confidence that she has in herself has really helped young girls realize that and want to have confidence in themselves.”
Back at home in Brownstown, Harley Toppe's closet is stocked with Caitlin Clark sports apparel items.
It was a great week for Luers guard Reese Rodhamel as the Fort Wayne Bishop Luers defeated Brownstown Central in the title game. Well, except for one thing. She had tickets to the Indiana vs. Iowa girls game, but she wasn't able to go because she was practicing for the state finals and she was a little busy.
“It was tough because I was so excited,” she said. “I was trying to make it work. I thought if I practiced early on Thursday, I could get home from practice. But I knew I had to be there. It's like Grandma went. . My father said he is looking for more tickets because I would love to see her.”
Like the young girls who filled the stands at Iowa State games this season, Lord Amell wanted to see the champions in person. “I admire Caitlin Clark. I love the way she plays. You can see her mentality in the way she plays basketball,” she said. “She's really intense and into it and I feel like that influences my play. When I watch her, when she does something crazy or makes a big shot, I feel like it influences my game. , I want to do that too.'' That really sends a message to a lot of teenage girls. And hearing about the things she's working on off the court, contributing to her community, and spending time in the gym only fuels her desire to become a better player.
“Actually, I wanted to order a Caitlin Clark poster. I was going to order it for my birthday a few weeks ago.”
Caitlin Clark signs autographs after the Iowa-Minnesota game.
Things got a little hectic after that with the Knights' march to the states, but Lord Amell vowed it was high on her to-do list. So even though Fort Wayne is far from Iowa City, Clark's accomplishments were often talked about in the Luers' locker room. “I don't think anyone on her team hates her,” Lord-Amell said. “It's hard not to like her.”
Finally, there are two young women, Ally Malone and Chloee Graham, with freshly cut champion nets hanging around their necks. They just led Gibson Southern to the Class 3A title and Clark was a part of their journey.
“I think just seeing her succeed will make people really interested in this girls' program,” Malone said. “She just knows she has the ability to go out and do something great. She always rises to the challenge.”
So is Graham. “Being this good and having such confidence in yourself as a good shooter is something you don't see in a lot of women's sports. These players are getting everyone's attention.”
Last week in Indiana, the girls playing in the basketball game had the extra bonus of championship game experience. Caitlin Clark is coming to town.
