Iowa and LSU drew the second-largest audience for any basketball game on ESPN since 2012, the network said. Reese said Wednesday that like Clark, she will leave college for the pros.
LSU's Angel Reese, left, and Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, center, called their Elite Eight game a great event for their sport. Millions of viewers agreed, launching the contest to the top of ESPN's ratings.When the two most fascinating basketball teams in the country tipped off in a win-or-go-home game Monday night, the country took notice: Iowa and LSU attracted the second-largest audience for any basketball game on ESPN — college or pro — since 2012, the network said.12.
Raising the stakes even more: Clark, 22, was known to be playing her final college games, having announced she'll turn pro after this season. On Wednesday, Reese said she is also leaving college. "I think it's just great for the sport, just being able to be a part of history," Reese said afterward."Like I said, no matter which way it went tonight, I know this was going to be a night for the ages. And just being able to be a part of history is great."
"Young girls today will never know a time when they couldn't consistently watch women's sports and their favorite athletes," Lindsey Darvin, an assistant professor of sport management at Syracuse University,."They will continue to exist in a time where women athletes are as big of — if not bigger — stars than the men."The college basketball feast continues on Friday, April 5, when the Final Four tip off in Cleveland, Ohio.
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