Clark eyes fairytale farewell in US college final

Caitlin Clark aims to crown her historic college basketball career with a national championship on Sunday when her University of Iowa team takes on South Carolina in the climax to March Madness.

The 22-year-old scoring phenomenon has emerged as a fully-fledged sporting icon during Iowa's journey to Sunday's showpiece, with her dazzling performances attracting sellout crowds and shattering television rating records.

Most analysts have the undefeated South Carolina as heavy favourites to clinch the National Collegiate Athletic Association title when they face Clark and the Hawkeyes in Cleveland.

A loss would be Clark's second straight defeat in the championship game following last year's loss to Louisiana State University.

Irrespective of the result, Clark will walk away from Sunday's game and her college career with the world at her feet.

She will be chosen by the Indiana Fever with the No.1 pick in the WNBA Draft later this month, and is also a contender to be handed a place in the United States team for the Paris Olympics.

Blue-chip sponsors are scrambling to align their brands behind the "Caitlin Clark Effect", virtually ensuring the young guard will be set for life financially before she even sets foot on a WNBA court.

Clark's rocketing fame has extended beyond the usual parameters of US college basketball, garnering international attention that has been compared to pop icon Taylor Swift.

- Global impact -

A recent headline in The Times of London stated that Clark "could be the world's most influential athlete".

Clark has forged her reputation through her on-court genius, a deadly three-point sharpshooter akin to the NBA's Stephen Curry.

This year, in her final regular season game, she eclipsed Pete Maravich's 54-year-old all-time college basketball scoring record -- a mark many felt would never be beaten.

"It's hard to wrap my head around having an impact globally. That's my goal and my dream and what I want to do," Clark said in a recent interview.

"It's super cool to see who we have an impact on in our state and also in our country, but certainly around the world, too."

When Clark scored 41 points to help Iowa beat the LSU Tigers last Monday, a record North American audience of 12.3 million tuned in.

That's a bigger audience than any Major League Baseball game in more than a year, and larger than every National Hockey League game since the 1971 Stanley Cup.

While Clark's trademark has been her remarkable long-range shooting prowess, her coaches and team-mates speak about her maturity and high basketball IQ.

"Everybody's defensive plan is to stop her and nobody has been able to figure out really how to do it," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "She has faced every kind of defense. She really knows how to pick them apart. It's pretty amazing."

- Humble temperament -

Bluder is more impressed by Clark's temperament, painting a picture of a grounded young athlete who has not let fame and fortune go to her head.

"When you're 22 and getting this kind of attention, these kind of (sponsor) deals, it's hard to keep your head on straight," Bluder said.

"It takes a great amount of maturity, of parental support, but I think also it's her ability to be humble and laugh at herself."

Golden State Warriors star Curry meanwhile, whose own three-point expertise has helped revolutionise the NBA, says there is much more to Clark's game than three-pointers.

"I've been watching from afar and understanding just how much of a power she is out there on the court," Curry said in an interview with CBS last month.

"The cool part is the way that she plays. Her range, and the level of difficulty on her shots is obviously a very close comparison to the way that I play. But I think it almost robs her of the rest of her game because she's such a good floor general; she has her overall floor game."

Last year, Clark starred as Iowa stopped an unbeaten South Carolina team in the semi-final.

Iowa fans will hope Clark's sharpshooting and leadership qualities can carry her team to another upset over all-conquering South Carolina.

Clark is determined to sign off in style.

"Being in this moment before gives our group a good understanding of what to expect," she said after Friday's final four win over Connecticut.

"We know what South Carolina brings to the table and we're going to have our hands full. But it's the national championship, it's the last game of my career, and it's the last game for five people on this team. I don't think motivation will be hard to come by."

rcw/pb