It might seem crazy to think of, but there was a time when Caitlin Clark wasn't the global icon that she is today. Her rise was instant, the kind of player women's basketball has always wanted but never really prepared for.
Everyone immediately took notice the first time they saw her play and dominate. She has arguably become as big as Stephen Curry or LeBron James and it all started in college.
Before then, nobody knew who CC was. However, there were already murmurs of an Iowa Hawkeye who kept shooting three from the logo and scoring like never before seen in the women's game. It was cemented during her sophomore year, in a game her former teammate Kate Martin remembers all too clearly.
It was early February 2022 when Iowa traveled to Ann Arbor to face Michigan. The Hawkeyes were severely short-handed and fielded only seven players. Everything pointed to a blowout, especially after the Wolverines led by 25 in the fourth quarter, but soon, the whole world would experience the gravity that Clark brought.
Newer fans would go back to that game and see today that Iowa still lost, 98-90. But for some, it was the game where they saw the first glimpses of a women's basketball supernova as Clark scored 25 of her career-high 45 points in the fourth quarter to try and rally the Hawkeyes.
It's easy to see why Martin would never forget that day, not only because of the incredible resilience and talent that Clark put on display, but also because it was the game where the face of women's basketball started to emerge.
"We had a bunch of people out due to COVID. We only had seven players eligible that entire game, and so we were dog tired, but at the end of that game, Caitlin was just bringing us back into that game single-handedly," Martin recalled.
"She was just coming down in transition, and literally, she hit probably five or six logo threes. And that went a little viral, and people were like, 'She's the real deal,'" she added.
Clark had already made waves in her freshman year after averaging 26.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game. However, she wouldn't really turn heads nationally because of COVID at the time until her sophomore season, after that Michigan game.
Despite the loss, Clark looked unstoppable. It might seem common for CC to be so dominant in every game today, but at that time, nobody had seen a player like her in women's basketball who could confidently pull up from way beyond the arc and drain it.
Martin herself recalled being enamored with Clark's game during practice, where she would casually do the thing that fans were in awe of regularly.
"We'd scrimmage, and she was doing that in those games. It happened in two different scrimmages, I vividly remember, where we were down, and she came back and hit like 4 threes in a row, and nobody could guard her, nobody could do anything about it, and we'd come back and win. And it was just insane," she stated
It came to a point where Clark became undeniable in his third year. She had become a superstar with both fans and the media unable to keep their eyes off of her in every game. She transcended the women's game and helped bring national attention to it.
Everything culminated in 2024, ironically, right back where much of her attention began: against Michigan. This time, Clark was a senior, breaking records left and right. Her next task? She needed eight points to pass Kelsey Plum as the NCAA women's all-time leading scorer.
She reached the milestone less than three minutes into the game, with what else, a logo three-pointer. She would finish the game with a new career-high of 49 points, and this time, she led Iowa to the win.
It's well documented how significant the impact Clark has had on women's basketball has been since then. However, one unique aspect of her and Iowa's rise was that it not only put the women's game on the map but also made people, from children to adults, fall in love with the sport.
For older generations, the likes of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal are the reasons they feel deeply in love with the game. Today, NBA players are still mentioned, but they are now joined by Clark and, arguably, other WNBA players.
From a program standpoint, CC's impact was also huge. Martin experienced firsthand how the Hawkeyes evolved from a competitive college program into one of the biggest attractions in sports, which is why many tuned in and will continue to do so.
"Something that's just super cool that I hear from my dad's friends or my brother's friends or just a lot of men in general is, 'Yeah, you know, I never really watched women's basketball, but then I watched you guys. I watched the Iowa Hawkeyes, and I fell in love," Martin shared.
Women's basketball was always a sport worthy of all the attention. It had seen transcendent players come through and make their marks. Still, nobody really commanded everyone's attention until CC made it difficult to look away with her range.
Related: A'ja Wilson just showed Caitlin Clark there are levels to this game
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
